


Enchanted, Enchanting

by sonofdvrin



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Magic, Minor Angst though, Witches, and the bonds are built over time, but like....magic bonds instead, not everyone is a witch, slowburn, soul bonds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23406445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonofdvrin/pseuds/sonofdvrin
Summary: Thor has grown up too powerful for his own good, and tries to suppress his magic as much as possible. Lightning has always been a hard magic to try and tame. As Thor grows older, he internalizes a lot of the pain that his power inflicts. Bruce has been good with technology his whole life. Despite both of his parents being elemental witches, he was graced with tech magic. It’s helped him figure out his passions and find work that he actually enjoys.When the two meet, there's a spark, something drawing them together. But when both of them try to ignore it for their own safety, things don't go as planned.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Thor, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark - Relationship
Comments: 9
Kudos: 49
Collections: Marvel Trumps Hate 2019





	1. Enraptured

**Author's Note:**

> I've written this as part of the amazing Marvel Trumps Hate event! I've had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you all enjoy it!

_“Maybe I wasn’t born unfinished. Maybe I am the one who makes myself better.”_

It’s the middle of August, which means the school year is starting soon. Thor sighs as he continues to look through the start of his lesson preparations for September. Not much has changed in the needs of updating material over the summer, so he won’t have to change all that much thankfully. But he still wants to be creative and different from what he did last year, it was the only way he could find lesson planning fun.

Teaching 3rd graders was never in his life plan, but he’s not complaining about it. Growing up, there were so many pressures on him to be like his father and help run the family business. And for a long time, it’s what he wanted. Then, when he went to university, he seemed to fall out of love with it. The idea wasn’t appealing anymore, so at the end of his sophomore year, he was scrambling to declare a new major.

Thor figured that teaching was a secure enough job, even if it doesn’t pay all that much. Obviously, his father wasn’t too happy with him, but the support he received from his mom confirmed that he had made the right decision. Now, five years after graduation, he’s settled into a routine and doesn’t feel overly nervous at the start of a new year anymore.

However, it wasn’t easy finding a teaching job at first. A lot of administrations were worried that his brand of magic would be dangerous to have around small children. Witches are more accepted than they were twenty years ago, but those who have what’s deemed ‘dangerous’ magic are always looked at nervously.

Just because Thor can control lightning doesn’t mean that he’s going to electrocute a child. It’s only helped him during the science units and the mandatory introductory magic unit that Thor has to teach. But people are obviously still scared, even if they aren’t willing to admit it. His parents had done a good job at sheltering him from the outside world when he was younger, but Thor’s glad to really see the world for what it is now.

Thor can feel the hum of electricity in the air, which always happens when he gets lost in thought. Sighing, he closes his lesson binder and puts it back up on the shelf. Obviously, he’s in no place to focus now, so he goes to make some lunch. Eva, his tabby cat, jumps up onto the counter.

“You know you shouldn’t be up here,” Thor says.

Eva just meows in reply, waiting for some of the meat Thor is putting into his sandwich.

“I can’t believe you’re begging me for food when your bowl still has some in it.”

Eva continues to look at him hopefully. He almost gives in, but he remembers the vet telling him to be stricter with her diet.

“I’m sorry, girl,” he whispers as he scratches her behind the ear.

He eats leaning up against the counter, mindlessly petting Eva. She was never part of the plan either, but he hated living in his apartment alone. Originally, Thor wanted a dog, but he didn’t have the time to dedicate to making sure a dog received enough exercise. He had gotten her from a shelter, where she had been living for almost a year.

Seeing her in her kennel pulled at his heart strings and a couple of days later, Thor had caved and went to adopt her. Eva has been a comfort to him the last couple of years and has always helped soothe him when his magic gets a bit out of hand. He likes to think that he found her for a reason.

“So, Eva, what should my classroom theme be this year?” he wonders aloud. “I could do superheroes again, but that feels like cheating. I don’t want it to seem like I’m recycling my decorations. Maybe I could just focus on favorite books from my students last year.”

Eva meows loudly, which Thor took as a sign of agreement. Sighing, Thor started looking through Pinterest for ideas. There were some good ideas and he started writing down the supplies he would need to buy from the local craft store. Sure, there were supplies in the teacher’s lounge at the school, but none of them were particularly good.

Buying supplies for his classroom always put a dent in his paycheck, but Thor was adamant on slowly stockpiling his craft supplies. It’s added up over the years and has been highly useful. But it still angered him that the school was never able to supply ample supplies for all of the teachers, aside from butcher paper.

Losing track of time, Thor only notices how late it is when he sees Eva curled up in her cat tree. If he wants to get an early start on the day, he needs to go to bed. Sighing, he closes his laptop and gets ready for bed.

~ ~ ~

The next morning, Thor goes to Michael’s and a locally owned craft store to pick up some more paper, markers, and paint. Last year, his students had loved The Magic Treehouse series, so he decided to make the classroom like a giant treehouse. And each student would be getting a name tag based off of a different book. He isn’t sure how he wants to decorate the door yet, but he has enough time to figure that out later.

It would be a lot of work, but seeing the students' faces when they walk into the classroom for the first time is always worth it. The wonder in their eyes is the reason why Thor always goes the extra mile. Knowing that his students are happy makes the work worth it and why he’s stayed with teaching for so long, despite the difficulties. Once Thor gets set up, one of his fellow teachers, Jane, comes in.

“Looks like you have a lot planned for this year,” she says, as she sits at one of the desks.

“You don’t have to act surprised about it,” Thor jokes.

Jane laughs. “Don’t worry, I only know it’s because you don’t have a social life.”

Thor rolls his eyes instead of replying, which just makes her laugh again. They had briefly dated, but had quickly called things off when they realized that their lives weren’t compatible in a romantic context.

“Well, it’s not like any of us can judge you because we all do the same thing,” Jane comments. “What did you decide on this year?”

“The Magic Treehouse series. My students loved it last year, and I didn’t want to cheat by doing superheroes again.”

“You know, it’s not cheating, right? None of us would hold a grudge against you for saving yourself some time.”

“I know, I just feel bad about it,” Thor sighs.

“Yeah, I get it. I decided to focus on space this year.”

“Looks like both of our themes are focused on getting away from home,” Thor remarks.

Jane smiles a bit. “I guess so, huh? I’m sure it’ll look great, though. You’ve always done a good job. I’m glad you ended up here instead of in the family business. It suits you more.”

Thor nods in agreement.

“Well, I’ll let you get to it. I’ll swing by for lunch to make sure you eat. You want to go to the usual place?”

“Sounds good, Jane. I’ll see you then.”

Once Jane leaves, Thor sighs and looks at all the craft supplies laying in front of him. It’s not like what he had to make had to be perfect, but it’s the principle of it all. And he knew that the parents would judge him to hell and back if it wasn’t perfect, which he had to learn the hard way from his first year of teaching. Picking out one of his favorite playlists, he starts playing music to help get focused on what lay ahead of him.

Unsurprisingly, Thor finds that the starting is the hardest part. Once he gets sucked into sketching out the treehouse for the door, time flies by. It isn’t until Jane comes by with some lunch that he notices how much time has passed. Jane just rolls her eyes when she sees the mess that Thor has surrounded himself with.

“It’s like you’re not even trying to keep your space clean,” Jane jokes.

“You do remember this is me we’re talking about, right? I’ve never been clean or organized about anything in my life,” Thor replies.

Jane rolls her eyes. “Yes, I am aware, quite unfortunately. Anyway, I brought lunch because I knew that you would get sucked into your work and stay here all day unless someone was looking out for you.”

Thor smiles softly. “I appreciate it.”

“Just means you owe me a favor.”

“Always a motive with you,” Thor snorts.

“Hey, if it means I can get you to carry the heavy boxes into my classroom, I’ll figure out a way to get you to do it,” Jane says.

“Why is it always the heavy lifting with you?”

“Because I know you can manage it. And I don’t see you actually complaining about it,” Jane points out.

“Only because you’re my friend,” Thor says. “You know I wouldn’t do this for anyone else.”

Jane gives him a skeptical look before handing over the soup and sandwich combo she got from the café just a couple blocks away. She sits down on the other side of Thor’s desk, moving some scraps of paper out of the way before setting down her food. It’s silent for a little while as they eat, just enjoying the soft music coming out from Thor’s phone.

“Are you doing okay?” Jane asks, out of the blue.

Thor gives her an inquisitive look. He knows that she wouldn’t be asking unless she picked up on something that was wrong.

“It’s just…I know you don’t like being alone, Thor, and ever since we broke up, you’ve seemed to have pulled away a bit,” Jane explains.

“That was years ago now, Jane, I’ve recovered from the heartbreak of it all,” Thor comments.

“I know, it’s just…I know you and I know that you’re a social person. I don’t know if pulling away from your family has been taking a toll on you or whatever,” Jane replies. “And just tell me if it’s nothing, I’m just…worried, I guess.”

“Look, you have nothing to worry about,” Thor says. “I know I haven’t been the same outgoing person lately, but I promise it’s nothing.”

Jane frowns a little, but nods. “Okay, but if it does turn into something, please let me know. I still have your back, no matter what.”

“I know you do, Jane. And I appreciate it, but I promise that I’m fine.”

Jane lets it go, and changes the subject to lighter topics. They mostly talk about the changes to lesson plans that they’re making and how they think the new principal is going to settle in after a year under her belt. She managed well enough last year, but it’s still something that takes time to settle into.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to working on your decorations,” Jane says after she finishes her food. “I’ll swing by when I leave to make sure you pack up too.”

“I’m not that bad,” Thor says, rolling his eyes.

“No, normally not, but when it comes to doing things for your class, you do. I’ll be back in a few hours,” Jane says firmly, leaving no room for argument.

Thor sighs. “Fine, but let me take some of this home at least.”

“No, Thor, home is for lesson planning and the classroom is for decorations.”

Thor just laughs as Jane leaves the room. He really does appreciate her looking out for him, especially since he doesn’t have much of anyone else right now. The only thing he didn’t want to bring up to her was his magic. While things are fine for the most part, he can feel something shifting, something he can’t explain.

When he was with his family’s business, he was able to have a stable outlet for his magic. And for a while, Thor thought losing that outlet would be fine, but he can feel the power bubbling under the surface, waiting to be let free. It’s not like there’s somewhere where he can just let loose with his lightning, and it hasn't been an issue yet. Until it does become a problem, Thor is determined to just let things simmer below the surface.

Thor knows that if he brings this up to Jane, she’ll worry. While he hasn’t a fairly good control on his magic, nothing can stop a powerful burst of magic if it’s been suppressed for too long. There have been countless stories about entire buildings being destroyed because someone didn’t take care of their magic properly. Thor refuses to let things get that bad, especially if things get bad during class, but it’s hard when he doesn’t know what to do.

The next few hours pass quickly, with Thor finishing up the door decorations he’s made. Before he can get it up on the door, though, Jane comes by with a stern look on her face.

“You can put that up first thing in the morning,” she says, with a tone in her voice that doesn’t leave room for arguing.

“Fine,” Thor says. “Are we doing dinner together so you can make sure I eat?”

“No, I think I’ve done my duty by bringing you lunch and making sure that the poor janitor isn’t the one to find you passed out in your classroom,” Jane remarks.

“That was one time, Jane, and I was better after that,” Thor groans.

Jane snorts. “One time is still too many times, Thor. But I just want to make sure that you’re doing okay since I know I’m your only friend.”

“That’s not true,” Thor argues, even though they both know how true it is.

“Darcy doesn’t count since the two of you only hang out because of me,” Jane points out. “And I didn’t say it was a bad thing.”

“It was all in your tone, though. It’s always in your tone, Jane.”

Jane snorts at that. “I guess you’re not wrong.”

They’re out in the parking lot now, standing by Thor’s car.

“Look, Thor, just make sure to take some time for yourself. I know I’m not a witch, so I can’t sense your magic, but I can still tell that something is off. You’ve seemed weirdly on edge lately and I’m worried.”

“I promise that I’m trying to figure it out. It’s…a weird time right now.”

Jane nods, knowing that Thor will say more when he’s ready.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Thor. Take it easy tonight, okay? We still have plenty of time to get things settled in the classroom.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

Jane leaves to her own car. When Thor gets settled in the driver’s seat, he sighs. Tonight, he’d probably just order some take out and then work on the lessons for the first couple of weeks. He knows how crucial those first days are in students feeling comfortable with him, so Thor tries his best to make things extra exciting for the students. He knows that he probably doesn’t need to take as long, but it makes him feel better about himself.

Before he gets to his apartment, he swings by his favorite Chinese restaurant and orders enough food to last him a couple of meals. It’s not like Thor doesn’t mind cooking, it’s just that take out is so much easier and he can afford to treat himself on occasion. Besides, he always gets drawn into whatever he’s working on during the beginning of the school year, so it’s also best to just have some food on hand when it’s too late to properly cook.

Once he’s back in his apartment, he drops his stuff down and makes a plate of food. While he’s eating, Thor mentally goes through what needs to be accomplished tonight. Logically, he knows it should be solidifying his lesson plans for the first month of school, but there’s also a voice that sounds an awful lot like Jane telling him to work through his magic issue.

Groaning, he knows that it’ll keep bugging him if he doesn’t do something about it now. Besides, he can always do lesson plans tomorrow night and just pull an all-nighter if needed. After he puts his plate into the dishwasher, he decides to sit on the couch and attempt some meditation. This was something that his mom tried to instill in him when he was younger and just learning his way around his magic.

When Thor hit puberty, his magic was especially temperamental and was hard to control. But his mom helped him by trying to focus his energy inward and to connect with his magic on a different level. It was hard at first, trying to calm something that’s meant to be wild and destructive. Or, that’s what Thor thought it was supposed to be at first.

But as he’s gotten older, Thor has learned that his lightning is like a controlled fury. There’s anger in his magic, but it’s always directed towards something, and not something that runs more rampant. Whenever his magic has gotten a bit wild in times of struggle, meditation has helped before, so hopefully this would help Thor figure out the issue.

Taking in a deep breath, Thor closes his eyes and does his best to focus inward on his magic. And – it runs from him, which is unusual. His magic isn’t normally one for running, and tends to be more up in his face at the start of meditating. Well, at least this confirms that something is wrong.

“What are you up to?” Thor whispers to himself. “Just…let me connect with you.”

His magic seems to slow a bit at that, but keeps moving just out of his touch. Sighing, Thor decides to keep talking to see if that helps anything.

“Look, I just want to make sure everything is good for when I start teaching next month. If we aren’t in sync, the board and PTA isn’t going to like that very much.”

His magic freezes a little bit at that, remembering the struggle Thor went through as a witch trying to get a teaching job. But the second his magic senses him coming closer, it moves away again.

“I’m sorry if this is about me not using you much, but you know that we don’t have a good outlet for you anymore. It’s hard to find somewhere that’s okay with me just…destroying things.”

His magic deflates at that, and lets Thor approach it. It takes all of Thor’s attention to focus on his magic and reconnect with it. Connecting with magic is a hard thing to explain to a non-witch, but magic is a living thing within someone and it requires constant surveillance to make sure it’s receiving the attention it deserves.

“I’m sorry about that, I’ll see if I can find something before the school year starts. I feel bad about it too,” Thor whispers.

They both know it’s going to be a near impossible task, but if Thor can at least be on the lookout for something…well, that’s more than his magic can ask for. At least it’s better than just ignoring the issue. With the immediate issue figured out, Thor opens his eyes again and looks at the time. It’s much later than he thought, and if he wants to get a good start tomorrow, then he should probably go to bed.

~ ~ ~

The next morning, Thor brings some lesson prep to the school, determined to focus on that at least a little bit today. Decorations are fun, but it can get a little bit tiring after a while, and he’s sure that Jane would appreciate him doing something a little different today.

Once he walks into his classroom, Thor looks at what he’s finished so far on decorations and decides to put up what he finished last night. The treehouse he made for the door isn’t exactly like how he imagined it, but the thought of trying to redo it makes him feel tired, so it goes up as it is. He then starts to put up some leaves around the top of the classroom, with some occasional branches. Jane comes in as he’s putting up the final leaf and makes a noise of pleasant surprise.

“You know, you don’t have to act so surprised, Jane,” Thor says, as he steps down from the chair he was standing on.

“I know, but I wasn’t sure if it was all going to translate well, but I think you’re going to be safe from the PTA this year,” Jane comments.

“That’s always the goal,” Thor replies. “Who do you think is going to get their wrath this year? I haven’t been around to see any other teacher’s decorations yet.”

“I haven’t decided yet, if I’m being honest. I kind of want it to be a surprise.”

Thor snorts. “Well, as long as it’s neither of us, I think I’m okay with not knowing.”

“You learned your lesson after the first time, you’re probably safe.”

“That’s when it happens, when you’re least expecting it,” Thor points out.

Jane rolls her eyes. “I honestly think you’re safe this year, especially if your name tags are good.”

“I’m theming them around different books. There’s enough books in the series for each kid to have a unique theme, even when the semester changes,” Thor says proudly.

“Oh, the PTA is going to love that. But do you really have enough time to be doing that?” Jane asks, only slightly concerned.

“I’ll make the time if I don’t have it. I’m certain it’ll work out just fine,” Thor answers.

“Those are some wise last words.”

“Then it’ll just be a good surprise.”

Jane snorts. “I hope so.”

Thor smiles smugly. “So, what’s the reason you stopped by?”

“Just wanted to make sure that you’re alive. And also, to let you know that I’m not bringing you lunch today, so watch the time.”

“Do you have something else going on?” Thor inquires.

Jane almost always swings by to at least make sure that Thor takes a break, so it’s a little unusual that she wouldn’t be coming by today, especially with school still a few weeks off.

“There’s just a meeting with the fifth-grade teachers that runs through our usual lunch time. I guess they’re changing some things for the transition to middle school,” Jane explains. “I’m not excited about it, but I have to be there.”

“I’ll do my best to remember to eat,” Thor says. “And have fun at your meeting.”

Jane wrinkles her nose. “I’ll do my best. And seriously, I better come back here with you already having eaten.”

“I can grab you some food, too, if you want. It might make me remember to actually leave the classroom,” Thor comments.

“I’d really appreciate that actually.”

“Consider it a done deal then. I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“Thank you, Thor,” Jane says as she leaves his classroom.

Thor sighs, and sets an alarm on his phone. It’s the only way that he’ll remember to go get lunch and just not get sucked into his work. After he sets it, he gets to work on sprucing up the lesson plans. There isn’t too much to do, besides changing some things that he remembers students not liking last year. Lessons are never perfect, but it’s the least he can do to keep things exciting for himself at the very least.

Before he knows it, his alarm is blaring at him. Sighing, Thor sets down his lesson binder and grabs his wallet to walk over to the café up the street. When Thor exits the building, the sun is shining brightly and there’s a warm breeze. It feels good, and it energizes his magic a little bit.

It’s rare that Thor’s magic comes out like this, scared of the consequences it faced in the past. Thor feels guilty over it, but knows there’s a good reason for his magic to hide. Being seen as dangerous is the last thing Thor wants. Before he knows it, he’s arrived at the café, feeling miles better than he did yesterday.

The line is short, so he’s able to place a to-go order for himself and Jane rather quickly. He waits in one of the comfier chairs, knowing the sandwiches will take a little while to heat up. It’s then a man slightly older than Thor comes in, looking a bit disheveled and tired. The nice suit the man was wearing was a stark contrast to his harried aura.

His magic reaches out to the man briefly, sensing something that Thor can’t detect. But before it can do anything, Thor is reeling his magic back in. It’s not like his magic hasn’t helped set him up before, but this doesn’t seem like the right moment. Besides, Thor doesn’t find the man particularly attractive and it doesn’t seem like he’s up for much conversation anyways.

The man briefly looks over at Thor as he gets creamer for his black coffee and there’s a spark with their magic. It catches Thor off-guard, not used to feeling a connection like this. Before anything can happen, Thor’s order is called out and he breaks the brief eye-contact. He can feel his magic trying to reach out to him, but he promptly ignores it. By the time he’s picked everything up, the older man is gone.

When he gets back to his classroom, he thinks about waiting for Jane before eating his lunch, but his stomach lets out a loud growl. Sighing, he sets Jane’s things to the side and digs into his food. He can feel his magic swirling around in confusion.

“Look, that was not an appropriate time to talk to someone. Besides, he looked kind of out of it. I didn’t want to get drawn into whatever he had going on,” Thor whispers.

He can feel his magic dip a little in disappointment.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I really don’t want to deal with this right now. We can talk tonight,” Thor whispers, a bit more aggressively.

He can feel his magic bubbling to the surface, threatening to burst. Static rolls through the air, making Thor’s hair stand on end. It isn’t happy with him, and if he pushes it down again, the wall he’s so carefully constructed might burst.

“I need you to get back down for right now,” Thor says, clenching his teeth. “We won’t have an accident at the school. Once Jane gets her lunch, I’ll drive us out to the woods and you can let loose there.”

He can tell his magic doesn’t want to listen, but it shocks him sharply before going back down. Sighing, Thor hopes nobody else felt the static. There’s no question who the magic would belong to and he doesn’t want to get fired before the school year even starts. But judging by the fact that there’s nobody rushing into his room right now, Thor assumes that he’s fine for the time being.

Waiting for Jane feels like ages, even though it’s probably only thirty minutes when she comes strolling into the room. She can sense that something is off, and sits down across from Thor. Thankfully, she lets Thor take his time to say what he needs to.

“My magic is acting up and I think I need to let it go for a little bit before the school year starts,” Thor says in a pained whisper.

“Did something happen?” Jane inquires.

“Well, it’s been acting up for a little while and today, I saw someone at the café when I went to go get us lunch. And my magic connected to him right away, but I just…closed off that connection before anything could happen. It wasn’t the right time and not the right person.”

“But…how do you know it wasn’t the right person?” Jane asks, genuinely confused. “I thought your magic just…knows these types of things.”

“I mean, it does, but it can’t always be right. And the guy really didn’t seem like my type anyways.”

Jane raises an eyebrow, but decides to let it go. “So, what do you think you’re going to do with your magic?”

“I’m thinking about going to the woods and just letting it run wild for a little bit. You know I don’t like doing that, but I just want to let it all out now before it gets worse. I don’t want anything to happen while I’m in class,” Thor explains.

“I hope it all works out,” Jane whispers. “Let me know when you get there and when you’ve made it back home safely, okay?”

Thor nods. “You know I will. I promise it’ll all be fine.”

“Those are always some famous last words.”

“Except these won’t be the last words because nothing is going to happen.”

“Whatever you say, Thor.” 

~ ~ ~

Thankfully, getting to the forest wasn’t hard and the dirt road up to the clearing Thor likes to go to in times like this was empty. It took him a few years to find a place that was safe for him to let go, and he fears the day that he’ll have to find somewhere else to go to. But for now, Thor makes sure to lock up his car and clear his head.

His magic is thrumming right below the surface, waiting to be let go. The air fills with static, and threatens to burst into something much more dangerous. Thor takes a deep breath and focuses on a singular point, which happens to be a tree that’s already fallen over. Before he can warn his magic to be careful, it shatters his mental barrier and erupts in pure power.

In a matter of seconds, the lightning shatters the fallen tree and looks around for the next thing to destroy. Thor does his best to reel it back in, but now that it’s free, it has no master and will listen to no one. Feeling the panic rising up in his chest, Thor tries to focus in on himself and calm his thoughts.

“Come back to me,” Thor whispers through clenched teeth. “We are one, and you need to come back home.”

The air crackles with the amount of magic and lightning in the air, and his magic is still flitting around, looking at the world around it. It seems to have calmed slightly, but shows no signs of coming back to Thor.

“You will come back to me right now,” Thor shouts.

In that moment, his lightning forms into a ball and shoots back into him. The pain is unbearable, leaving Thor unable to handle all of his magic coming back at once. He can feel himself starting to lose consciousness, overwhelmed by the power of the magic. Before he can grab his phone to call Jane, he passes out completely.


	2. Enomored

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not that Bruce is lonely, work keeps him busy and Tony counts as multiple friends considering how much attention he likes to have. But in the end, Bruce can't deny that his apartment feels lonely and it would be rather nice to have some company around.

_“What tragedy are the stars mourning tonight? I think it’s me.”_

Bruce never really understood how he became a tech witch. Both of his parents are more along the lines of the more traditional witches. His mom is a food witch and his dad is a fire witch. Neither seem like they would even lead to having a tech witch, but here he is, undeniably something new.

Being a tech witch is relatively new and barely understood within the magic community. Nobody knows how it happened, but it seems to have become more of a thing when technology started to rapidly evolve. Figuring the ins and outs, and just generally what they’re all capable of, is still a bit of a mystery.

At the very least, it gave Bruce a clear idea of what he wanted to do with his life. Not that witches have to do anything relating to their magic, but it seems a waste to not use his magic in his line of work. Besides, Bruch enjoys working with technology and finds it to be enjoyable enough for a long-term career.

Currently, Bruce is working with Stark Enterprises in the artificial intelligence labs, with most of the work for virtual reality games or computers. Thankfully, Bruce is actively encouraged to use his magic in the day-to-day work to smooth different processes out. In all honesty, he isn’t sure what he would do if he couldn’t use his magic at work because not using magic at all doesn’t seem like it would work out all that well.

Bruce is just finishing up work so he can go on an early lunch break when the owner of the company, Tony, stops by his desk. Striking up a friendship with him was never something that Bruce expected, but now Tony is one of his closest friends. And it helps that Tony understands tech magic, being a witch himself.

“So, you up for grabbing some lunch?” Tony asks.

“What, you don’t have a date with Pepper?” Bruce replies jokingly.

“No, not right now, she has an all day meeting. Besides, we haven’t had the chance to catch up in awhile. I want to make sure that you’re doing alright,” Tony explains. “I also found this great place downtown and I want to try it before taking Pepper there.”

“I still can’t believe you screen places before taking her somewhere. Isn’t part of the fun trying something new together?” Bruce asks, a bit incredulous.

“Look, I just want to make sure our date nights are good. You know how busy we’ve been lately; I don’t want to waste one of the few times our schedules line up in a bad place.”

“I guess that would make sense. But what does it say about our friendship that you don’t care?”

Tony rolls his eyes. “It just means I know you’ll be honest if you don’t like it.”

“I’m definitely sure that’s it,” Bruce jokes. “But let me just finish packing up and then we can head out.”

“So, how have you been feeling lately? Anything funny going on with your magic?” Tony asks, a serious tone in his voice.

Tony knows that for a while, Bruce struggled to control his magic. With neither of his parents really understanding how his magic worked, on top of the witch community just being wary of it in general, things weren’t great for a short time. Bruce wasn’t sure how to redirect his magic to make sure that it was getting the proper outlets to be healthy. And it was a constant struggle to even figure out what his magic even liked in the first place.

As the years went on, it was a lot of trial and error in getting to the place that Bruce is now. It still takes a toll on him some days, when his magic feels like it’s being pushed off to the side. There’s a delicate balance on making sure his magic gets what it wants without letting it completely take over.

“It’s been okay lately. I think the projects have been keeping it busy, which it appreciates,” Bruce says as he finishes packing his bag. “I haven’t had that many issues lately.”

“Okay, but it sounds like there is an issue if you’re saying not that many,” Tony points out.

“I promise that it’s not that big of a deal, I promise,” Bruce says, not really wanting to talk about what’s going on. “And besides, it’s more of a personal issue.”

Tony frowns, but lets it go, knowing that if Bruce wanted to talk about it, he would. Bruce is generally forthcoming about what’s going on magic wise because it could impact his work. As much as it worries him, Tony decides to change the subject.

“Well, let’s get going, I want to make sure that we get a good place at the restaurant,” Tony says.

Bruce snorts. “Please, they would drop everything to make sure you got a good table.”

“It doesn’t always work like that.”

“Tony, that was one time, I don’t think you get to act like it’s a regular occurrence,” Bruce points out.

“You know me, I just like to be dramatic. But seriously, let’s get going.”

~ ~ ~

The restaurant is actually pretty casual, considering the fact that Tony picked it out. It’s a small Thai place that’s tucked away on a small street outside of the downtown area. Nothing about it seems flashy or over-the-top, but judging by the smells, the food is going to be amazing. There’s something about it that warms Bruce’s spirit, and it’s then that he figures out that the place is owned by witches. Only a witch could make somewhere feel so comforting.

“Are you worried that Pepper won’t like the feel of the magic here?” Bruce inquires, after they place their orders.

“No, it’s not that. I know she doesn’t care about that type of thing, but I just want to know how impacted the food is,” Tony explains. “Not that using magic in food is bad, it’s wonderful, but I want to make sure the side effects won’t impact her too greatly. Her magic has been a bit off kilter lately, so I’m just taking some precautions.”

“Do you know why?” Bruce asks, surprised that this is the first time Tony has brought this up.

“We’re not sure yet, but you know that I have the doctor’s looking into it.”

“I hope it’s nothing serious,” Bruce replies, unsure of how else to comfort him.

“It’ll be all good, I’m sure of it,” Tony says with a false sense of bravado.

When it comes to Pepper, Tony always tries to put on a brave face. He cares more about her than he’s willing to admit, so any time there’s a threat to her, he tends to retreat into himself a little bit. This was only something that Bruce picked up on after knowing Tony for years and watching the two of them develop the relationship they have now.

“Keep me updated, okay?” Bruce says.

“Of course, I will. Now, tell me, how is your love life going?”

Bruce snorts. “Please, you know that nothing is going on. You’re the first person I would tell so that you’d stop bugging me about it.”

“I refuse to believe that there’s no new updates since the last time we talked. What happened to putting yourself out there?”

“I just haven’t found anyone worth putting myself out there for. And I’ve been so focused on the new project that it’s taken up a lot of my energy. The thought of trying to meet new people isn’t exactly appealing. Besides, I like where I’m at right now in my life, I’d like to keep it that way for a little bit.”

“Bruce, you have to stop getting so invested in work. I promise that it’ll still be there tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you, Tony. I don’t know anyone else who gets so involved in their work. It’s honestly a miracle that Pepper finds the time to date you at all.”

Tony lets out an offended noise. “I am the CEO of the company, you know.”

“But didn’t you hand that role over to Pepper?”

“Fine, former CEO who still gets too involved and basically has the same workload as before.”

“That’s a little bit better.”

The waiter then comes back to their table, with their meals. Bruce breathes in deeply and feels so immediately at home and calm, something he hasn’t felt like in a long time. He looks over at Tony, and can tell that he feels the same way, a bit of tenseness leaving Tony’s shoulders.

Conversation then turns casual, talking nothing more than the weather and exciting plans for the weekend (in which there are none, other than Tony taking Pepper on a date). As Bruce eats more, he feels a warmth fill his body, making his magic settle in a way that he never knew it could do. Whoever the cooks are, their magic is powerful to be able to manage this, especially on a large scale like this.

“I don’t ever remember my magic feeling this at ease,” Bruce whispers, not sure what else to say once they finish their meals. “This is all so unreal.”

“I think Pepper is going to love it here. She’s had so much on her plate and just…this is what she needs right now,” Tony says. “Thanks for coming with me because I think you needed this too.”

“Please, this feels good, but I didn’t need it. Not like you or Pepper.”

“Just because we aren’t the same type of stressed doesn’t mean you didn’t need it,” Tony points out.

Bruce rolls his eyes. “Whatever you say, boss.”

As usual, Tony pays for lunch and doesn’t even entertain Bruce trying to pay for his own meal. He knows that he should get used to Tony paying for things, but it still feels weird knowing someone who can pay for all of this without batting an eye.

As they leave the restaurant, Tony says, “I better not hear of you coming into the building this weekend, Bruce. I promise that everything will still be here on Monday.”

“Oh, please, like Pepper won’t be dragging you out of there before your date with her.”

“I’m getting better!” Tony protests. “And besides, I promised her that I would spend the whole weekend with her.”

“Two whole days? Let me know how that goes on Monday.”

“Why do you sound like you’re doubting me? Because that’s what it sounds like.”

“I am doubting you, Tony. I can’t remember the last time you went more than one day in the shop without being gravely injured.”

“There’s been plenty of times,” Tony replies, in protest.

Bruce raises an eyebrow. “Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

Tony laughs a little. “Alright, Bruce, I’ll do my best. Have a good weekend!”

Bruce waves a bit as he climbs into his car. Sighing, he tries to hold onto the feeling the food gave him before going back to his apartment. Normally he would head back to the office, but Tony would probably kill him if he went back on a Friday. He loves having his own place and living alone, but it did get lonely sometimes, more than he would ever admit to anyone. Sure, he could get a pet, but with how invested Bruce gets in his work, it just doesn’t seem fair to leave an animal alone for most of the day.

As he walks into the apartment and turns on the lights, he can feel the loneliness seep into his bones. Bruce tries to cling to the warmth from dinner, but it’s a fleeting feeling. His magic clings to him a bit tighter, trying to comfort Bruce as best as it can. They both know that this is a useless effort, knowing that in a couple of hours, things would be feeling bleak, no matter what.

It’s not like Bruce’s apartment is cursed, but on days like this, when the happiness is hard to hold onto, it feels like it. And this is why Bruce buries himself in his work, because at least work provides some type of distraction. He knows that this isn’t healthy, having Tony as his only good friend, but it’s been hard trying to keep up with everyone.

Bruce decides to spoil himself and go to the cafe down the road and get some dessert. They’re closing soon, which means that they’ll start marking prices down. It’s not like he can’t afford paying full-price for something, because he can, but the markdowns just means he can buy more for the same price. And the walk outside always helps clear his mind a little and helps his magic settle down a bit more for the weekend ahead.

Once he walks in, he takes a deep breath and can feel his magic perk up a bit. It knows that this is a treat and hopefully will mean that the weekend isn’t too awful. He gets his usual things, a couple of breakfast pastries and some scones for dessert. They’re simple things, but still good. He also decides to order a black coffee, deciding if he’s here, he might as well treat himself.

As he’s putting in the creamer into his coffee, he can feel his magic trying to connect with someone. Bruce turns around and makes eye contact with a slightly younger man, who looks too casual to be another business person. His magic reaches out again, but he feels the connection being forcefully broken. Then the younger man’s order is being called out (and honestly, who names their kid Thor?), so Bruce takes this moment to leave.

Bruce tries to process what just happened, but he leaves it at a strange occurrence. Sure, magic can sense compatibility, but it’s usually nothing like what he just felt. As he pushes his thoughts to the back of his mind, he passes his neighbor, Nat.

“Any of those for me?” she asks, teasingly.

Bruce snorts. “You know I’m probably going to eat most of these tonight.”

“I know, but thought I would ask anyways.”

“If I knew you weren’t going out tonight for work, I would have offered.”

Nat sighs. “God, I don’t ever want to think about work, even though that’s where I’m headed.”

“We all know you love your work, whatever it is.”

“It’s important-”

“And that’s all we need to know,” Bruce says, finishing the same statement she always says when anybody asks.

Nat smirks. “Good to see that you’re catching on. Now, as much as I love talking to you, I have to go.”

“Stay safe.”

“I’ll do my best.”

And with that, Nat heads to the elevator and goes to wherever she has to for work. When Bruce gets back into his apartment, he heads to his office and starts up his desktop. Normally, he wouldn’t start doing work at home so soon, but he just wants to make sure all the loose ends from today were wrapped up, since he went to dinner with Tony.

Before he knows it, his magic is nudging him and he knows that this is a signal to go to bed. Bruce looks at the clock, and it’s getting closer to midnight. This isn’t the latest he’s stayed up, but it’s been a long day and it’s not worth getting sucked back into work for another few hours. As he gets ready for bed, he starts to lose focus and just goes through the motions. He hardly notices when he falls asleep.

~ ~ ~

The morning light is what wakes Bruce up. It’s only just past eight am, so Bruce takes his time getting ready. His magic perks up a bit when it remembers the treats from the bakery that they got the night before. Holding onto the small burst of happiness it provides him, he decides to put off looking at anything work related until the afternoon. He’s unsure if he’ll hold out that long, but it’s a good goal to have.

It’s then that he gets a bunch of texts from Tony back-to-back. Sighing, he opens them up, not knowing if there’s a serious issue or just Tony spamming him pictures of shelter animals that he wants Bruce to adopt. Turns out, it’s the animals, and this time, it’s of shelter cats.

Bruce’s magic has a sense of longing, wanting to have an animal to latch onto when he’s home. Witches having familiars isn’t exactly like most people imagined, animals just serve as a companion for magic, providing comfort and company. Most witches don’t even have a familiar, but they’re still not completely uncommon.

_Good try, but I don’t think I’m going to cave today_ , is what Bruce texts back.

**But…the black one had a witch owner that passed away and nobody is going to adopt him bc he’s a black cat and was owned by a witch ☹**

_Well, someone else can adopt him then_

**You should consider it!!!!**

_Fine._

**!!!!!**

Bruce sighs and takes a serious look at the listing with the black cat. He’ll occasionally give in and take a look, but never lets it go further than that. When his magic sees the cat, it perks up, despite knowing that nothing will come of it. That’s always the hardest park, breaking it to his magic that having an animal isn’t a logical thing right now.

And sure, it might be possible if the cat has already been exposed to magic and knows how to handle itself when the owner is gone for a while. But Bruce tries to push that thought away, knowing that if he thought about it any longer, he would cave and adopt the cat in a heartbeat. His magic tries to insist that it would be smart, it would help cleanse the apartment of whatever was going on, and if it led to a normal sleep schedule, well it wouldn’t be complaining.

“We can’t do this,” Bruce whispers.

His magic becomes indignant, as if to say, _Well, I can do it, it’s just you who’s saying no._

“I just don’t know,” Bruce groans. “You know that it’s not because I don’t want a cat…”

His magic hums, sensing that if it just pushes a bit more, Bruce might crack under the pressure. He knows that he shouldn’t, that it isn’t logical for him to adopt an animal and this one cat shouldn’t be the breaking point for him to cave.

Tony texts him again saying, **so??? opinions???**

_It’s cute and my magic is getting too excited about it_

**Then it’s a sign you should get him**

_I’m hardly home, Tony_

**Okay, but that can easily change. You def don’t need to be working long days**

_Project deadlines though!!!_

**They’ll still be met, you not working an extra million hours a week is going to change that**

_I shouldn’t have said anything_ ☹

**We’ll go see him together tomorrow!!**

_No we won’t_

😊

Bruce groans and lays back into his couch. Tony is right, but he’s been so sure of it up until this point. And he can only imagine how lonely that cat is, not having his previous owner’s magic surrounding him in the shelter. The more Bruce thought about it, the more he wanted to cave and adopt the cat. Trying his best to get his mind off of the cat, he goes back to his office to work.

~ ~ ~

Saturday and Sunday start to pass by in a blur until there’s a loud knocking on his door. Bruce almost falls out of his chair, but manages to catch himself. When he opens the door, Tony is standing there, smiling brightly.

“I’m guessing the date went well?” Bruce asks, letting Tony into his apartment.

“Yeah, of course it went well,” Tony answers smugly.

“You weren’t so sure on Friday.”

“It’s whatever, but I’m here so we can go get you a cat.”

“We’re not here to get me a cat, Tony. I’m in no place to adopt a cat.”

“Yes, you are Bruce. All you need is an adjustment to your work schedule, and you can definitely afford it.”

“What if I don’t want the cat?” Bruce inquires.

“Please, I know you want the cat, otherwise that would have been the first thing you had said to me.”

Bruce frowns. “You don’t know that.”

“Okay, but I do, considering that’s what happened every other time I’ve tried this.”

Bruce sighs. “Have I ever told you that you’re too smart for your own good?”

“Too often,” Tony replies, smiling brightly. “Now, are you ready to get a cat?”

His magic perks up and feels the happiest it’s felt in the apartment for a while. That’s what’s making it hard-knowing how hard his magic is going to take it if he gets its hopes up again. Tony can see the internal struggle that Bruce is going through and just leaves him to think. He’s thankful that Tony understands that sometimes he just needs to process things internally for a moment.

“Fine, we can go look at the cat,” Bruce says, regretting his choice instantly.

“Wait, really? Like, I don’t want to pressure you or anything.”

“You’re just going to keep sending me pictures until I cave, and I guess this cat won’t be too bad.”

“I promise that this is going to be the best decision you’ve ever made. And now I can stop pestering Pepper about getting a cat. I can just come here instead.”

“You’re talking as if I’m going to adopt it already.”

“Bruce, I know you and you’re softer than you like to admit.”

Bruce rolls his eyes. “Sure, whatever you say, Tony. We should go before it closes and you’re going to drive since you’re making me do this.”

Tony smiles smugly as they walk down to his car. Bruce tries his best to not think about what’ll happen if he does end up getting the cat, and it’s becoming more of a real possibility each second. Tony’s right, he just has a need to help others because he knows what it’s like to be broken with nobody there to help. At the very least, Tony can get cat hair all over his car.

When they pull up to the shelter, Bruce’s magic thrums happily and has a hard time staying contained. It’s never been to the shelter before and the thought of being surrounded by animals is making it excited.

“I can feel your magic’s excitement through the bond,” Tony says, a small smile on his face. “I haven’t felt this happy in a while. I’m guessing this means that you’ve caved.”

“No, it doesn’t, I haven’t even met the cat yet,” Bruce replies, just to argue a bit.

Tony tries to not feel things through the magic bond that they have, but in times like this, where Bruce’s magic is feeling so much, it can be hard. Every witch, even Tony, knows how precious a magical bond is because it’s rare and earned only through the utmost of trust. Besides his parents, Bruce doesn’t have any other bonds, and doesn’t even have any other attachments that could form into bonds. It’s not like he’s opposed to it, but he hasn’t found that many people that he liked well enough to let into such a personal part of him.

When they walk into the shelter, Tony asks, “We were wondering if the black cat Max was still here?”

“Oh, yes, of course,” the secretary, whose name plate said Rose, replied. “I’ll call up one of the techs and they can take the two of you back to take a look.”

A couple of minutes late, a tech comes up and introduces herself as Evelyn.

“So, you’re here for Max?” she asks, leading them towards the cat section of the shelter.

“I’m just here for moral support, but my friend Bruce is the one that wants to adopt,” Tony explains.

“Oh, uh, I’m just here to look,” Bruce says.

Evelyn smirks. “That’s what they all say before taking someone home with them. And here we are, here’s Max.”

Bruce takes a look at him and smiles. Max purrs loudly and rubs up against the door. He puts his finger out to pet him and is happy to find that he isn’t opposed to it. Bruce’s magic is all over the place and wants to connect with the cat immediately. It senses that the cat is looking for another witch to connect to. In an instant, Bruce can feel himself caving, and knows that he’ll be leaving with Max.

“So, anything we should know about Max that wasn’t in the adoption post?” Bruce asks, trying to find anything that would allow himself to not adopt him.

“No, not really,” Evelyn replies. “We just want to make sure that he goes home with another witch. His owner relied a lot on him to help regulate her magic, so Max just feels comforted being around other witches. As you can tell, he’s pretty relaxed and wouldn’t be too hard as a first pet.”

“I just feel bad because sometimes I can work long hours and I don’t want to leave him at home for that long,” Bruce says.

“Well, while it wouldn’t be ideal, cats manage just fine with a bit of extra alone time. Definitely don’t quite require as much as attention as dogs, but you still want to be there for them,” Evelyn explains. “But I find that if people find a good match, they naturally adjust their schedules as needed. Just something to think about. I’ll leave the two of you alone for a moment while you think over it.”

Once Evelyn leaves, Tony looks over at Bruce, smiling and raises an eyebrow.

“Ugh, I don’t need a cat, Tony,” Bruce groans.

“But you want the cat, I can tell,” Tony points out. “Your magic is the most excited its been in a while. I honestly think this would be a good experience for you.”

“I know, I’ve just been so adamant on not getting an animal, it feels weird backtracking on that fact,” Bruce replies. “Like just on Friday, I was dead set on not getting an animal, and now look at me!”

“It’s not a bad thing, Bruce. Besides, the cat likes you and Max seems chill enough.”

“You know, I can feel you trying to influence me down the bond, Tony. It’s not helping any.”

“Yes, it is,” Tony replies, just to be annoying.

Sighing, Bruce looks at Max again, and the cat is observing him, like he knows what’s going on. And in times like this, Bruce really hates having a soft heart because as much as it might not be a good idea, he can feel himself giving in.

“If this doesn’t work out, I’m giving Max to you,” Bruce says.

Tony smiles widely. “Of course. But this will work out, I promise.”

“Sure, whatever you say, boss.”

Evelyn comes back a few moments later, with a stack of paper and a clipboard.

“I have the adoption papers ready,” she says, handing it all over to Bruce.

“Did you bring these just in case?” Bruce inquires.

She shrugs. “Nobody usually decides on not adopting after I leave them with the animal for a little bit. And Max seems comfortable with you, which is the important thing.”

Bruce snorts. “Fine, looks like I’m adopting a cat.”

~ ~ ~

Settling in with Max wasn’t as hard as Bruce thought it was going to be. Max is fairly independent and clings onto his magic with no problem. Bruce’s magic is obviously ecstatic to have another living thing to bond with. It’s a bit odd trying to adjust to having a cat there, but Bruce finds that he likes the quiet company, especially when he’s late up at night.

Tonight is one of those nights where Max is curled up in his lap while he replies to emails. Sure, they could wait until the following morning, but Bruce never likes to start his day with emails, preferring to just jump right into working on the latest project. So when he gets a call from Pepper of all people close to midnight, he’s a bit miffed.

“Hello?” Bruce asks as he picks up the phone. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s Tony,” she replies, sounding like a mess. “He’s in the hospital, something went wrong, but I’m not sure what.”

“Do you need me to come to the hospital?”

“Yeah, I know Tony kept an emergency bag of things at your place and I didn’t think to grab it when I called an ambulance and-”

“Pepper, it’s okay, just tell me which hospital and I’ll come by as fast as I can.”

Bruce notes that the hospital is the best one in the city, which isn’t surprising. As he gathers everything up, he notices Max following him around, obviously picking up on his nervous energy. His magic is temporarily soothed by the cat, but Bruce still panics as he makes sure he has everything he needs.

“I promise I’ll be back soon, one of my friends just needs some help right now,” Bruce says as he opens the apartment door.

Max seems to nod in understanding, so Bruce rushes off to his car. The drive to the hospital seems to pass by in a blur and once he gets there, he’s texting Pepper to meet her down in the lobby. He wants to stay to see how Tony is doing and try to figure out what happened, but he also knows that it’s also not his place to stay.

“Oh, thank god you’re here,” Pepper says when she sees Bruce walking in.

“Here’s the bag, it has some extra clothes, books, and some tech stuff that I never bothered to touch,” Bruce explains, handing her the bag. “Doctors have any clue what happened?”

“It was something to do with an overload of electricity in the lab. I guess there was some weird surge out in the woods today, but they don’t have a pinpoint on what it was.”

“Huh, that’s odd,” Bruce replies. “Well, just let me know if you need anything else, okay? I should probably head back, but I can come visit after work tomorrow if you want.”

“Yeah, I would appreciate that. Thank you so much for coming out here.”

“You know you can depend on me. Try and get some rest.”

As Bruce drives back home, he thinks about the random surge of electricity. It might be related to somebody’s magic, which would explain why nobody could pinpoint it. Sometimes what is seen as the more dangerous type of magic can be hard to contain if there isn’t a healthy outlet. But Bruce does his best to not think about it and just hopes that his best friend is going to pull through this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you could tell, this is Bruce's start to the story! The third chapter, as you could also probably guess, is going to be the story of how Bruce and Thor meet (and eventually find their way to love). Hope you all enjoy!


	3. Enthrall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems that Bruce and Thor can't escape meeting each other time and time again, no matter how much they try to avoid each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have noticed that I've added one more chapter to this! Chapter Three was simply becoming too long, and it made sense to split it up. I pinky promise that the next chapter will be the last one <3

_“Amazing at how the heart clutches at anything familiar.”_

Thor wakes up, and blinks a little bit, forgetting where he is. He takes a deep breath, then winces. Gently, he sits up, noticing how everything in his body is aching. His magic is the quietest it’s been in years, the humming beneath his skin barely even noticeable. Looking around again, Thor sees the devastation around him.

Trees are burnt, a few are even shattered into pieces. The air is filled with the smell of firewood and burnt hair. It turns Thor’s stomach as he slowly remembers what happens, his magic ripping everything apart, enjoying the small piece of freedom it was allowed. He slowly sinks into himself, seeing how he’s turning into something he never wanted to become. Thor knew his magic was dangerous….but this was something he thought would never happen, not to him.

Tears are streaming down his face, and Thor allows himself to cry out the pain, unsure of what to do next, if there even is anything to do next. The quiet moment is then broken by the loud ringing of his phone. When he sees Jane calling, he picks up, knowing that she wouldn’t call unless something was happening.

“Thor?” she asks, distressed.

“I’m here,” he whispers hoarsely.

“There’s reports on the news of a huge electrical surge in the city, and Tony fucking Stark was sent to the hospital because of it,” Jane explains, stressed. “Was it you?”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” he sobs. “I was letting my magic loose in the forest, I didn’t think anything was going to happen, Jane. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“I know, Thor, I know. But you need to get out of there, I can only imagine that the police are going to make their way out there soon. You can come over to my place if you don’t want to be alone.”

“Can you come to my place instead? I just think being around Eva might help, but I don’t want to be alone.”

“Of course, I’ll head over now. Be safe, Thor, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Thor grunts in affirmation before hanging up. Looking around again, it appears that his car seems to be mostly untouched, but it’s yet to be seen if it still runs. As he gets in, his magic tries to comfort him, to apologize, but Thor pushes it gently to the side. Thankfully, the car seems to be running fine, so Thor starts the long drive back to his apartment.

“Look, this was meant to be a fun way for you to get out a little bit, not burn down a fucking forest,” Thor says angrily. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you to be suppressed like I’ve been having to do, but you possibly killed someone because of what happened today. And god knows non-witches don’t understand that you’re a living thing, so if they find me, I’d be convicted instead.”

His magic shrinks even further into Thor. He feels bad, but he needs to drive home the point of how wrong this all is.

“Sure, I know this is probably my fault, at least to some degree, but you know better than this. At least, I thought you knew.”

The rest of the drive is quiet, and his magic makes itself scare. He knows things will go back to normal soon enough, which is why he doesn’t immediately cave and apologize. When he gets to his apartment, Jane is waiting outside his door. She doesn’t say anything as he lets her in.

Once he shuts the door, Jane asks, “You look terrible. Are you okay?”

“I’m not sure, everything hurts. I would normally go to the hospital, but I don’t want to be suspicious. And I don’t know if I could afford an ER visit at the moment, either,” Thor answers, sitting down.

Eva immediately joins him on the couch, curling into a small ball onto his lap. He mindlessly starts petting her, and she purrs in response. Jane takes a seat on the loveseat.

Jane frowns. “But if you put it off, that’ll only make things worse. And I don’t think it would hurt to get your magic checked out. You could just say that it reacted to the electrical surge today. It’s not unheard of, you know.”

“Trying to cover for me?” Thor asks jokingly, wincing a little when he tries to laugh.

“I mean, yeah, I know that it’s your fault, but like…not totally your fault.”

“I don’t think it quite works like that, Jane. Besides, it’s not like people would get it. A fellow witch, sure, but I can’t risk that.”

“If you’re still in pain tomorrow morning, I’ll force you to the hospital. We can’t lose you so close to the start of the school year. Nobody likes it when a substitute has to start the school year for any teacher.”

Thor frowns. “I didn’t even think of that.”

“Of course, you didn’t, that’s why you keep me around.”

“I’m sorry, I just don’t really know what happened. I blacked out once my magic became too powerful for me to manage. And I know you’re going to say something about how nobody’s magic is too powerful for them, but it’s been too long since it’s been free like that, completely unmanaged.”

“I know you didn’t mean for it to turn out like this,” Jane whispers. “How’s your magic doing now?”

“It’s calmed down a lot, and it can tell that I’m angry at it. I just want all of this to pass by without a problem.”

Jane snorts. “I think that’s how we got to this point, Thor. But I know what you mean. Just…really think about getting your magic and injuries checked out, okay? You don’t look great and it’s only going to get worse.”

“Are you going to text me pictures of all the things I still need to do before school starts to pressure me into going?”

“I didn’t even think of that, but thank you for the idea.”

Thor groans, and he feels sharp stabs of pain as he moves slightly. Jane watches him intently, trying to gauge how bad it all is. Eva meows loudly and rubs her face into his ribcage, which just makes Thor flinch in pain.

“Okay, you know what, I’m driving you to the hospital.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Thor, your cat made you flinch in pain by rubbing her head on you. That’s not normal or good.”

“Fine, you win.”

~ ~ ~

Bruce is still up, watching the news into the early hours of the morning. Pepper had texted him to tell him to not go into work today, so he isn’t too worried about getting enough sleep before work. Max is curled up in his lap, trying his best to keep Bruce calm. It’s working rather well, his magic attaching itself to the cat. Having Max here has helped Bruce zone out a little, and not panic as much.

Apparently, there’s still no news on how the surge happened. The police found a large part of the forest outside of the city was torched, but it doesn’t appear that it was caused by people. There’s speculation that magic was involved, and Bruce isn’t doubting it. But he doesn’t think that what happened was intentional on the witch’s side, if there was indeed magic involved, at least Bruce hopes there wasn’t any ill intent.

Sighing, Bruce looks at the time again, and it’s almost time for the sun to come up. As much as he wants to stay up in case anything new comes in, he knows he should probably get some rest. There’s no point in running himself dry when he doesn’t have to, and he wants to be prepared in case Pepper needs him for anything.

Max curls up next to Bruce once he lays down in bed. Thoughts are still racing through his mind when he feels a gentle nudge on his magic. Looking over at Max, the cat is staring intently at him. Figuring that Max is trying his best to calm Bruce down, he closes his eyes and lets the gentle waves of magic come in.

~ ~ ~

Getting to the hospital in the middle of the night when there’s been a strange event isn’t something Thor ever wants to experience ever again. He was obviously met with suspicion right away, the doctors automatically assuming that the whole event was his fault. They obviously aren’t wrong, but Jane does a good job at deflecting questions and making it seem like everything was a coincidence.

“So, the surge had a negative impact on your magic?” the doctor inquires, still unsure.

“Yes, since my magic is similar to what the surge was, it reacted and overpowered me too quickly. I took the brunt of the damage so that it wouldn’t cause any damage,” Thor explains, for what seems like the millionth time. “I wasn’t certain about coming in because I knew it would be suspicious, but Jane convinced me the damage was bad enough to come.”

“Well, I’m glad she did,” the doctor replies. “It looks like you’ve got some broken ribs and a slight concussion. You’re lucky it isn’t worse.”

“I should be good by the beginning of the school year, right?” Thor asks. “I don’t want to call out for a substitute at the beginning of the year.”

“As long as you take it easy now, you’ll be okay,” the doctor replies. “Now, I’m going to set up an appointment for you in about a week so we can do a check-up on you to make sure that you’re healing correctly.”

“Is there anything he should be avoiding?” Jane inquires.

“Standard concussion protocol should be followed, so minimal screen time and visitors until we can assess it again next week. And make sure to take it easy so that you aren’t putting too much strain on your ribs,” the doctor explains. “If you can work from home, work from home, okay? No need to be going anywhere if you don’t have to.”

Thor sighs, before nodding. They get an appointment set up for the following Friday and then Jane is driving them back to his apartment. This really isn’t how Thor had wanted school prep to go, and he really hopes that this doesn’t set the tone for the school year. Once they get back into his apartment, Jane is getting some blankets from one of the closets.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Thor asks.

“I’m staying the night on the couch, what else do you think? I want to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

“Jane, you don’t have to worry about me, I can manage.”

“Look, can you just let me do this for a couple nights at least? I’m worried about you and I know you don’t have anyone else.”

“I have Eva.”

“Your cat doesn’t count, Thor. I love her, but she won’t stop you from doing something extremely stupid.”

Thor snorts. “You don’t know that.”

“Don’t argue with me, Thor. Just let me make sure you’re going to be okay, as your friend.”

“Sure, of course,” he replies softly.

Falling asleep that night was hard, considering Thor was in pain, no matter what sleeping position he was in. Eva helped calm him down a little bit, but she can’t take away the worst of the pain. He’s really hoping that the worst of it goes away by the first week of September, because he’s not sure how he’s going to deal with a bunch of small children in this much pain.

Jane leaves him after Sunday passes, and promises to kill him if Thor so much as shows up to the school. It’s lonely the whole week leading up to the appointment, but there’s enough work to be done to prepare for the school year that he can’t complain about having nothing to do. Eva is around him constantly, and is always trying to calm him to the best of her ability.

When Friday rolls around, he almost forgets about his appointment until Jane is calling him and telling him to get his butt out of the apartment. It’s a quick drive, and Thor hopes the appointment is just as quick. The weather also isn’t terribly hot outside, which he appreciates.

As he walks to the doctor’s office, his magic perks up and tries to reach out towards something. When Thor looks around, confused, he sees the man from the coffee shop from the previous week. He never thought that he would see the man again, so Thor tries to pull his magic back so that he doesn’t have to talk to him.

Unfortunately, the man looks over and makes eye contact, then looks confused. It looks as if he’s debating coming over or not, and Thor really hopes that he doesn’t. This isn’t something he wants to have happen today. Thankfully, the man just gives him a small smile, then continues to walk to his car. Sighing loudly, Thor continues into the clinic and checks in for his appointment.

“So, how have you been feeling?” Dr. Robinson inquires. “Any worse than when you came in?”

“No, not really. I guess I might be overexerting myself trying to keep up with lesson prep because the headaches are still pretty bad in the afternoon,” Thor answers. “And I honestly can’t tell about my ribs, it still hurts at night when I try to sleep.”

“Have you tried sleeping in a more upright position? I know it’s not the most comfortable, but it’s probably your best bet.”

“I haven’t, mostly because I’ve been trying to avoid that.”

“It might be your best bet so you avoid making anything worse. And it looks like you had an injection for the pain, as well as a recommendation for icing the ribs as well. How well have you been keeping up with that?”

“Not too well if I’m being honest. I set alarms and then turn them off before getting the ice packs.”

“It might be best to set sticky notes around your house. I know it doesn’t help the aesthetic, but it’s important that you try to keep up with it to keep the swelling down.”

Thor sighs, then winces. “I’ll do my best.”

“Well, that’s all I can ask for, I suppose. Now, I know the school year is starting in two weeks, so make sure that you rest as much as you can before then and you should be fine. I would like to have one more appointment with you before then if possible. What day would work for you?”

They get one more appointment set up for the day and then Thor is on his way out. While he didn’t hear what he was hoping to hear, it’s good to know he’s making some kind of progress. As he’s leaving, Thor feels his magic perk up again and reach out. He really hopes it isn’t that guy again, but his hopes are dashed when he sees the guy walking back with what appears to be bags of food.

His magic is really insistent this time, so it’s unsurprising when the mystery guy waves and walks in Thor’s direction. As much as Thor wants to ignore him, he figures a quick hello wouldn’t hurt, especially if they’re bound to keep running into each other like this.

“Um, hello,” the guy says, awkwardly, once he gets closer to Thor. “Um, I normally don’t introduce myself to strangers but…”

“Our magic seems to have a different plan in mind,” Thor replies. “I’m Thor, by the way.”

“Oh, yes I remember that from the café,” the guy replies.

Thor scrunches his eyebrows together, not remembering saying anything to the man.

“It was from when they called out your order. Uh, sorry for not saying that earlier,” he explains. “I’m Bruce, in case you were wondering.”

“Well, uh, it’s good to meet you, Bruce.”

It’s that moment when Bruce’s phone starts ringing. He grabs it out of his pocket, and his face falls a little bit.

“Oh, Pepper is calling me. I promised to bring her food, so I should probably go. I’ll see you around?”

Thor just shrugs, and Bruce seems to take it as a positive as he picks up the phone and heads into the clinic. It figures that it would be just his luck that his magic picks someone with a girlfriend already. Not like Thor is looking for a partner or anything, but it would have been nice, anyways. Deciding that he’s had enough adventure for today, Thor decides to head back to his apartment and sleep off the weirdness of the day.

~ ~ ~

When Bruce gets to Tony’s room with lunch, he’s in a bit of a weird mood. Meeting Thor had been weird, and he’s still a bit shocked that he decided to go say hi to him. Normally Bruce doesn’t get up to talk to strangers, but seeing him three times and his magic reacting all three of those times? It wouldn’t hurt to greet him. Pepper notices right away that Bruce is a little off.

“Are the reporters being weird again? I know Happy has been doing his best to get them off our back, but I can see if I can release another statement to get them off our backs,” Pepper says.

“No, they’re not too bad at the moment. It’s just…some guy I met,” Bruce replies, trying to be casual.

“Just…some guy?” Pepper asks, a bit confused.

“Well, I mean, it’s probably nothing, but my magic has reacted every time I’ve seen him, and I ran into him twice when coming to the clinic today,” Bruce explains. “I decided to say hi to him and I guess I don’t know what to think of it.”

“God, you are so lucky Tony is sedated right now, otherwise he would be all over this,” Pepper says, laughing a little. “Did you at least get his number?”

“I didn’t think I had to,” Bruce says. “I barely even know him. We barely even had a conversation!”

“Wait, when I called you, did I interrupt? I didn’t mean to, and you definitely didn’t have to pick up.”

“No, no, it was weird and awkward and I’m honestly glad you called because I probably would have made everything worse.”

“I’m sure it was fine, Bruce. Every witch knows that having your magic actually be interested in someone means everything.”

“Yeah, but what if I don’t want it to mean anything? He’s just some guy.”

“Everyone is just some stranger until you say something.”

Bruce gives her an incredulous look. “Not you too. I hear enough of this from Tony. Aren’t you supposed to be the more practical one?”

“I am the more practical one, which is why I’m telling you this. You know that Tony would make a whole thing of it if he could.”

“And he won’t because you won’t tell him anything.”

“Not while he’s in the hospital.”

“Not ever, Pepper.”

“We have a very communicative relationship, Bruce.”

Bruce rolls his eyes. “Let me tell him first, okay. He’ll be worse if he has to hear it from you.”

“Fine, I guess I can let you do the honors.”

“Besides, it’s not going to turn into anything more than this because I won’t be seeing him again.”

“You sure about that?”

“Just let me have this one thing, Pepper. Please.”

“Fine, I guess you can have it. Just this once, though.”

~ ~ ~

“Wait, say that again? You met this guy who your magic liked and you barely said anything to him?” Jane asks, unsatisfied.

“Yes, Jane, it was a weird situation! And I wasn’t going to give my phone number to some guy I just met,” Thor explains. “Besides, it’s not like it’s really that important. Just because my magic likes him doesn’t mean anything.”

“Okay, but didn’t you tell me that means everything, especially if you’re looking to settle down with someone?”

“Jane, just because my magic seemed to think that we might be compatible doesn’t mean I want to settle down with him.”

“I didn’t imply that, I was just saying that it’s a good thing to have, right?”

Thor rubs his eyes. “Yes, it’s a good thing, but it isn’t necessary at all. And having compatible magic doesn’t mean that he’s a good person. Plus, he doesn’t seem to be my type.”

“Oh, you have a type? What is it?”

“I don’t know, but not him.”

“You’re the worst, Thor.”

“Why are you so mean to me? I’m injured.”

“Somebody has to keep you level-headed,” Jane retorts. “And I mean…it doesn’t have to be anything romantic, Thor. It would do you good to have more friends than just me.”

“And Darcy,” Thor says.

“I told you that she doesn’t count.”

“So much for me being the worst, I think it’s you.”

“Are you really going to say that to the person who brings you food and makes sure you’re staying on track for the beginning of the school year?”

Thor pouts a little. “I can’t believe we’re still friends.”

“You know, I can’t either, but here we are,” Jane says. “Do you think you’re going to run into him again?”

“I hope not. I can’t imagine us getting along all that well. And he has a girlfriend.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“No, but someone named Pepper was calling him and he said he got lunch for her.”

“Wait a second, you were at the clinic where Stark is hospitalized, right?”

“Yes, but I don’t see how that matters.”

“Thor, Pepper is Tony’s girlfriend, not the guy you met. What was his name again?”

“Bruce,” Thor answers.

Jane immediately grabs her phone and starts typing furiously into it. She gets a concentrated look on her face, like she’s trying to track something important down. Thor knows better than to interrupt her when she gets like this, so he just lets her do her thing until she starts smiling widely.

“What did you find?” Thor asks, curious.

“Does this look like him?” Jane inquires, holding her phone out to him.

He grabs it, and staring back at him is a picture of Bruce…Bruce Banner, if the bio is to be believed. Thor skims the bio, learning that Bruce is a tech witch who works for Stark Industries, and has been for quite a while now. He has numerous degrees, and has quite a few academic achievements. Unfortunately, there seems to be very little on his personal life.

“Yeah, this is him,” Thor says, handing back Jane’s phone.

“Well, your magic definitely could have picked somebody worse than this guy,” Jane replies. “I’d love to talk to him one of these days, just to pick his brain apart. He works for the AI department so I can’t imagine how much tech stuff he knows.”

“Of course, that’s what you’d want to meet him for,” Thor snorts. “Maybe my magic was reaching out because it wants to introduce the two of you.”

“Is that how this works? That’s not what you told me before.”

Thor shrugs. “Magic is weird. Sometimes it does something even if we don’t know why yet. Everything I know is a good theory.”

“Well, I know I’m not a witch, but I feel like your magic was reaching out to introduce us. And how do you even know he’s not your type if you haven’t even talked to him yet?”

“I just don’t think it would work. He’s all…business-y and I’m a teacher.”

“Are you telling me that teachers aren’t badasses? Because I would like to disagree.”

“That wasn’t my point and you know it. It’s just…I feel like we’re in two different places and a spark of magic won’t fix that. Magic isn’t always right,” Thor says wistfully.

“Sounds like you have some experience there.”

“I mean, with my family…my magic bonded with them because they’re family. But it’s not like that with every witch family. And it doesn’t mean that they’re not close, it’s just that the magic didn’t think that they needed to bond,” Thor explains. “A bond is always something that’s built carefully between two people and it’s not going to hurt anyone to not work on it.”

“So…it’s a way to connect people who wouldn’t normally talk to people.”

“Yeah, most of the time. Like, obviously, people who’ve been together a long time can create a bond without a spark, but it’s harder because the magic knows it doesn’t need to be there. And bonds can be broken as well, even though a broken bond hurts like hell for a while. So, it’s not even a permanent thing.”

“Magic is fucking weird.”

Thor snorts. “Tell me about it. No matter how much I learn about it, I’m always surprised by it.”

“So, I take this as you’re not going to hunt down Bruce Banner?”

“No, I don’t think so. But if we keep running into each other…”

“Well, I’ll just let it go if you really don’t think you’re going to do anything about it. I think I just got excited about you letting someone else into your life.”

“Jane, you know that it’s not about letting someone into my life.”

“It’s just that nobody meets your weird standards, I know.”

“They aren’t weird.”

“Yes, they are Thor. There’s no reason for most of them!” Jane exclaims.

Thor just rolls his eyes and continues to pet Eva.

“Well, get some rest and make sure your lesson prep is done. I’ll come by tomorrow with your stuff for the name tags, okay?”

Once Jane leaves, Thor sighs and leans back into the couch. He doesn’t like admitting it, but he does feel lonely. The thought of getting to know Bruce more is a tempting idea, but like he said earlier, they’re just in such different places. And Thor is just hesitant to get to know anybody in the tech industry after leaving his family business. Even after all these years, it’s still a sore spot for him, losing his family over something so stupid.

But it’s too late to change things now, so Thor just gets comfortable and turns on the TV.

~ ~ ~

Tony is finally well enough to leave the hospital almost three weeks after the incident. Bruce still hasn’t brought up Thor, mostly because he doesn’t think it’s worth bringing up. But with the looks Pepper is giving him, he knows that he doesn’t have much longer before she steps in and says something. He’s mostly afraid of Tony teasing him to no end and the fact that he knows Tony would do an in-depth search on Thor. Bruce would like to keep some air of not knowing the guy if possible, as it makes it easier to avoid thinking about him.

“So, what do you think about having lunch somewhere soon?” Tony inquires one morning when Bruce is visiting his apartment.

“You just got out of the hospital; shouldn’t you be resting still?”

“What do you think I was doing there for 3 weeks? I want to get out and stretch my legs a little and hear all of the gossip.”

Bruce snorts. “What makes you think I have any gossip?”

“Because you’re not the type to gossip, so everyone trusts you with things.”

“Well, nothing interesting has happened,” Bruce says, trying to keep his voice level.

Tony squints at him. “Something did happen, didn’t it? That’s it, we’re getting lunch tomorrow and you’re telling me everything.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Oh, yes you are. I’m your boss and I’m using that privilege at this very moment. You know I’m only going to get more annoying about it.”

“Fine,” Bruce says, groaning. “But I get to choose the location.”

Tony smiles widely. “I’ll be coming by around noon then.”

“Sure, sounds good. I should be going, though, I have a morning meeting soon and I can’t be late.”

The whole day at work, Bruce tries to not think about having to tell Tony about Thor. The whole situation is a whole lot of nothing, but Tony would find a way to turn it into something without a doubt. It’s not like Bruce would be opposed to getting to know Thor more, but the whole thing just felt too weird for him to think too much about it.  
When the following day follows, Bruce almost forgets that he’s meeting with Tony. He’s engrossed in a small project when Tony comes sweeping in with a smug smile and leans up against Bruce’s desk. Sighing, Bruce saves what he’s working and puts on his coat.

“We’re not going anywhere fancy, just the usual café down the road.”

Tony scrunches his nose. “I could always pay for somewhere nicer.”

“Look, you agreed to this yesterday. We’re going to the café.”

“Fine,” Tony groans.

Tony makes sure to keep the conversation light as they walk down the street. He can easily sense how uneasy Bruce is and doesn’t want to spook him by jumping into anything right away. Tony knew something was up once Pepper skirted around how Bruce was doing. He’s sure it’s nothing serious, but he can definitely tell that something is off. However, once they get situated with their drinks and lunch, he’s raising an eyebrow.

“So, spill the gossip,” Tony says.

“It’s really nothing, but I guess it’s kind of important?” Bruce says, trying to figure out how to tell Tony. “I guess it’s just that my magic had a spark with someone.”

“Oh, and?”

“And nothing. I just know the guy’s name and that he probably lives in the area since I saw him going to the same clinic you were at.”

“It’s a guy? Is he cute?”

“I don’t see how any of this matters since I won’t ever be seeing him again.”

“At least indulge me a little here. I was sitting in a hospital bed for almost three weeks with no good entertainment.”

“Okay, fine, I guess he was kind of cute,” Bruce replies. “And his name is Thor.”

“Thor? As in Thor Odinson?”

“I don’t know his last name,” Bruce says, shrugging. “I never bothered to figure it out.”

“Is he tall with long blonde hair?”

“Uh, yes?”

“Might be him then. I used to do business with the Odinson business but Thor’s brother Loki is a little shit. He tried to steal things one too many times for my liking.”

“Thor didn’t look like he helped run a business. Although I guess I shouldn’t judge.”

“Nah, he doesn’t help the business at all. He left when he was still in college and became a teacher or something. I didn’t bother keeping up, to be honest.”

“Well, this has all been interesting, but I still don’t think I’ll ever talk to him again.”

In that moment, Bruce feels his magic perk up in a way that’s becoming all too familiar. He dares to glance over to the entrance and sees Thor walking in. Thor immediately straightens up, then looks around and freezes when he makes eye contact with Bruce. Tony notices something is up and turns to look over at Thor, then smiles brightly.

“Thor, it’s good to see you again! It’s been a while,” Tony says, getting up to greet Thor.

“Oh, uh, hello Tony, it has been a while,” Thor replies. “Um, what are you doing here?”

“I was just grabbing lunch with Bruce, he works for me at Stark Industries,” Tony explains. “Why don’t you grab some food and join us.”

“I’m actually here to just get some lunch for Jane and I,” Thor replies. “School starts tomorrow so we’re trying to finish up all of our last-minute prep things.”

“Jane is your…girlfriend?” Tony asks, hesitantly.

“No, a coworker,” Thor answers. “But, uh, it was good seeing the both of you again.”

“Wait, take my card and keep in touch. I missed keeping up with you after you left the business, and considering I don’t talk with your family anymore, it would be good to stay in touch,” Tony says, whipping out his business card.

“Yeah, sure, thank you,” Thor says, awkwardly waving at Bruce.

Tony comes and sits back down, smiling smugly at Bruce. Bruce ignores him and keeps Thor in his peripheral until he’s walking out with his order. It’s quiet for a couple more moments until Tony is laughing.

“Is there something that you want to tell me?” Bruce inquires.

“It’s just…out of all people for you to have a magical spark, he was the last person I was expecting. The two of you are so different, but I can see how the two of you fit together.”

“Well, we won’t be fitting together at all because nothing is going to happen.”

“I would like to beg to differ.”

“And what’s your plan here?”

“I noticed that he was wearing a sweatshirt for the elementary school that isn’t too far from here and there’s an amazing science teacher by the name of Jane who teaches there. We’ve done some school visits there before,” Tony explains. “And I’m assuming it’s the same Jane that Thor brought up, so I decided to drop my business card. Jane will force him to talk to me, and therefore I can include you as well.”

“Tony, that is the stupidest thing you have ever come up with,” Bruce replies in utter disbelief.

“Okay, but it’s going to work and you will be thanking me later,” Tony says.

“I don’t know why you keep insisting something is going to happen when it isn’t. I can really promise you that I don’t want anything to happen.”

“I got you to cave and get Max, don’t doubt my abilities to wear you down.”

“This isn’t the same as owning a cat and you know it.”

Tony just smiles smugly before taking another sip of his coffee.

~ ~ ~

“Thor, are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Jane comments when Thor walks back into his classroom with lunch.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” Thor replies, as he sets down the food.

“You saw Bruce again, didn’t you?” Jane inquires. “Did you talk to him?”

“No, but I did talk to Tony Stark,” Thor says.

“Tony Stark was with him? How was he?”

“He was nice, and he remembered me from when he used to work with my family’s business. Gave me his business card so I could keep in touch or whatever,” Thor answers. “But I don’t think I’m going to. I just don’t see the point; we were never that close.”

“Thor, you can’t turn down the chance to get to know Tony Stark! This is an amazing opportunity.”

“I don’t see what we have to offer each other and I’m sure he was just doing this to be nice.”

“Fine, then get to know him for me. He’s come by the school to do stuff at assemblies, but I’d love to get him into just my class.”

“I’ll consider it.”

Jane snorts. “No, you’re going to do it because you owe me for basically keeping you alive the last couple of weeks. Text him or whatever.”

“Right now? Wouldn’t that seem desperate?”

“Maybe, but you also don’t want him to forget who you are,” Jane replies, shrugging.

Sighing, Thor pulls out his phone and Stark’s business card, then texts him, _Hey, it’s Thor from the café. It was good to see you again._

Jane looks over at the text and says, “That’s…really formal for you, Thor.”

“God forbid I don’t want to look dumb when texting Tony Stark.”

His phone beeps and sees that Tony replied, **It was good to see you too!! Maybe we can catch up some time?? I have some cool stuff to show u**

“Did…did he just use two different spellings of ‘you’ in the same text message?” Thor asks, in disbelief.

“It would appear so. And say yes, but you’re bringing me along with you.”

“I don’t know if I’m in a place to set conditions.”

“Just try for me, please?” Jane inquires.

_Uhhhh sure I guess?? But can I bring Jane w/ me??_

**Yeah, no prob, I’ll set up a time later!!**

_Just not during the week bc of school!_

😊

“I guess we can take that as a yes?” Thor says, not really sure what to make of everything.

“I suppose so,” Jane replies, a bit breathless. “I can’t believe we’re going to get a personal tour of Stark Industries! God, this is totally making up for the dumb shit you did earlier. Oh god, I didn’t even think, will your magic be weird around his since you were the one who hurt him?”

“I don’t think so? At the very least, he didn’t notice anything when I saw him at the café,” Thor replies.

“Well, let’s hope he doesn’t find out because winning a legal battle against Stark is not something that we’ll be doing.”

Thor snorts. “I think this is enough talk about Stark, I’d like to get started on finishing up for tomorrow.”

~ ~ ~

“So, Bruce, it looks like your boy will be coming by with Jane for a tour soon,” Tony says, smirking.

“He’s not my boy, Tony,” Bruce groans. “Besides, he barely even looked at me today. I really don’t think whatever you’re planning on doing is going to work.”

“It will and you want to know why? Because I’m bringing Pepper in on this.”

“You will not be bringing Pepper into this. Having you meddle in my personal life is bad enough,” Bruce says. “I ended up with Max because of you.”

“I don’t see you complaining about that now, though,” Tony points out. “I think my track record is pretty good at this point.”

“One for one isn’t great.”

“Please, it’s great. And besides, right now, it’s going to be just a tour of the place and if we happen to stop by here for a while, it’ll be just a happy coincidence.”

“I can’t believe I’m friends with you.”

“You’ll be thanking me soon enough,” Tony says smugly. “Now, fill me on the project. Anything weird I should be made aware of.”

The rest of the day passes in a bit of a blur, showing Tony around the new projects that the AI division has taken on. It’s been busy, but nothing that they can’t handle. The business helps ease Bruce’s nerves and helps him forget about everything that happened at lunch. By the end of the day, the tour is pushed to the back of his brain, and by the end of the week, it’s completely slipped his mind.

So, when Tony comes sweeping in around the end of September with Thor and Jane, Bruce is completely blindsided. He feels his magic perk up and swirl around in confusion. In all honesty, Bruce can’t blame his magic by being confused by what’s going on. Each time they’ve run into each other has been an odd experience that leaves him feeling a bit blindsided.

“And this is the AI department,” Tony says, at the front end of the shop. “My friend Bruce is one of the two main managers and has helped everything run smoothly. It might be surprising to see so many people here working, but it’s amazing the advancements that have been made recently. Let me introduce you to Bruce since it looks like he’s finishing up on a project.”

Bruce clams up and smiles awkwardly as they walk over to his office desk. Tony knows how much he hates having to give tours unannounced, much less to someone he’s been trying to avoid, even if it hasn’t been purposefully.

“Hi, it’s good to see you again, Thor. And it’s good to meet you, Jane,” Bruce says, holding his hand out.

Jane shakes his hand and says, “This place looks amazing. I feel like I’ve been in awe this whole tour.”

“Yeah, it’s really quite amazing. But I guess I can give you both the standard tour since Tony didn’t tell me we would have any visitors today, especially since it’s a Saturday.”

“Oh, do you normally not have tours on the weekend? I thought I saw something about it on the Stark website.”

“We do, but they usually don’t come back to any of the labs. But don’t worry about it,” Bruce says, trying to feign being casual.

Thor doesn’t say anything, and barely looks at Bruce as he starts the tour. It’s a fairly quick and simple tour, since he wants to get away from Thor as soon as possible. Jane seems lovely, and Bruce would love to pick her mind a little bit more, but he figures that can wait a little while. Tony is just at the back of the group and keeps smiling encouragingly every time Bruce clams up a little. Unfortunately, it’s only making Bruce’s nerves worse.

“So, uh, I guess that’s basically it,” Bruce says awkwardly at the end of the tour. “I can try and answer any questions you have, but Tony should have the answers to it all.”

“How about we do questions over lunch?” Tony asks. “Pepper said she would be able to join us and having the current CEO of the company as well would be a good addition.”

“Um, I have to finish what I was in the middle of,” Bruce says weakly, trying to avoid spending any more time with Thor.

“Yes, we wouldn’t want to inconvenience you,” Thor replies diplomatically.

“Please, it’s no worries, and lunch will be on me, so don’t worry about having to pay for anything,” Tony says. “And Bruce, it’ll do you some good to get out of the office for a little while. I promise the project can wait a couple more hours. Or the rest of the weekend, if you took time off like a normal person.”

Bruce snorts. “This is my first weekend in over a month, Tony, let me have some space.”

It’s then that Pepper comes walking in, with a smirk.

“So, we’re all ready for lunch, correct?” she asks.

And, well, Bruce knows better than to say no to Pepper.

~ ~ ~

Thor has felt awkward ever since he steps foot into Stark Industries. His magic senses that Bruce is nearby and is confused on why they aren’t going to him right away. In all honesty, he doesn’t know why his magic is still looking for Bruce, considering that every time they’ve interacted, he’s pulled himself back.

So, when he finds himself getting lunch with Bruce, Tony, and Pepper, he’s not feeling much better. His magic is doing it’s best to break free to go be with Bruce, but Thor has got a tight grasp on it. They aren’t going to have a repeat of last month, especially in such a public place.

“Well, it’s good to officially meet you, I’ve heard so much about you from Tony and Bruce,” Pepper says. “How did all of you meet?”

“Uh, Bruce and I have just met each other in passing, it’s no big deal,” Thor says. “And I’ve known Tony since I was a teenager, even if it was mostly through family business.”

“Oh, well, that’s interesting,” Pepper says. “Is…your magic doing okay? It feels a bit weird.”

Thor freezes, because asking about a stranger’s magic is a bit taboo, even within the witch community. Someone’s magic is an intimate part of themselves, and sensing it is a very personal thing, which is part of the reason why Thor has been so touchy about talking to Bruce. But then Thor remembers Jane saying that Pepper is highly attuned to others magic. She had to be, being the CEO of one of the largest tech companies in the world.

“It’s alright, it’s been a bit odd the last few weeks,” Thor answers, trying to be vague. “I guess it’s missed being out and about since the school year started.”

Pepper nods, taking his answer for what it is. “Now, are there any questions that I can answer that these two couldn’t?”

This immediately allows Jane to jump in, and ask more about how Pepper handles what she does, especially as a witch. Tony, Bruce, and Thor just let the two of them talk and hold the conversation while they eat. His magic is still trying to reach out to Bruce, but it seems to have caught on that now isn’t a good time to push things too far.

“Well, this was a good break from everything, thank you for coming out to visit,” Tony says.

“Oh, it was our pleasure,” Jane says excitedly. “And you would really be okay with coming in for a day to talk to my class?”

“Yeah, of course. I can bring Bruce too, if you think the kids would enjoy that,” Tony replies. “And Pepper, maybe you could swing by? Just make it a party?”

“I’m sure we could all come by, it would be our pleasure,” Pepper replies. “What do you think Bruce?”

“I, uh, could probably do that. But just make sure I don’t have meetings that day,” Bruce says.

“Even if you do, I’ll clear them so that you don’t get out of it,” Tony says. “Now, we should probably get head out, but someone will be in contact about dates, Jane.”

Once they all leave, Jane looks over at Thor excitedly.

“I can’t believe that they’re all going to come in! The amount of brain power with just those three is amazing,” Jane says wistfully.

“Well, I’ll make sure to avoid your wing that day. I can only imagine how many people are going to try and come in just to meet them.”

“Thor, you’re not getting away that easily. And I refuse to let you avoid Bruce.”

“I’m not avoiding him if there was nothing for us to talk about.”

“What do you mean there was nothing for you to talk about? You have so much that you could talk about!”

“Just because our magic is compatible doesn’t mean that we have things to talk about. Didn’t you just say how much brain power he has? I think that immediately disqualifies anything we would have to talk about.”

“You’re just being too hard on yourself. I’m going to find a way to get the two of you to be friends at the very least. And I could tell that Pepper knew something was up. In fact, I would bet that Tony and Pepper both already know what’s going on.”

“Are you saying that the two of them are scheming something up?”

Jane shrugs. “It isn’t a terrible idea. I might bring it up when I see them next.”

“No, you won’t,” Thor says, with little conviction. “Just…if you do bring it up, don’t make it weird. I don’t want to make this whole thing worse than it needs to be.”

“Sure, whatever you say, Thor.”

~ ~ ~

“I think that went well,” Tony says once they get back to the office. “Thor isn’t quite my type, but he is very nice to look at.”

“I approve of him,” Pepper adds.

“Why does approval matter if nothing is going to happen?” Bruce asks. “Like I get talking to him to clear up whatever is going on, but I don’t think it’ll go past that. He didn’t look all that happy to be at lunch today.”

“Things will get better once you talk to him,” Pepper says decisively. “Tony and I were all over the place when we first met, but now look where we’re at. We’re in a good spot, but it took work. I think if you put in the work with Thor, things would turn out well. And if it happens that things don’t turn out as planned, then it’s no big deal, I promise. At least then you can say that you tried.”

Bruce sighs. “I guess I can give it a shot, mostly because I know that the two of you won’t leave me alone until I do. But if things remain weird, don’t push it, okay?”

“Of course not, Bruce,” Tony says. “So, I take it that means you're coming on our school visit?"

“I guess so,” Bruce replies.

Tony and Pepper smile brightly and it’s in that moment that Bruce starts to regret his decision. But it’s too late to change his mind, and it’s for the best that he just gets this all over as soon as possible.


	4. Enlightenment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are tentatively getting better between Bruce and Thor, but keeping secrets has never been easy for Thor.

_“Close your eyes and know you are worthy of love and someday you will be so full of it, it will spill into all the hollow places in your life and you will glow again.”_

“So, how are you feeling?” Tony asks. “Ready for the school visit today?”

“I would really rather not think about it,” Bruce groans. “It’s not that I don’t like kids, but how am I supposed to focus if Thor is there? I can feel him radiating his dislike for me whenever I’m around.”

“You’ll be fine,” Pepper says, trying her best to be reassuring. “It’ll be fine, just focus on the kids and that should win him over.”

“Okay, first of all, I don’t care about winning him over, I just want him to stop hating me. Second of all, I don’t see how making the kids like me will help my case at all,” Bruce points out.

“He’s a teacher,” Pepper replies. “He has to like kids and knowing that you’re good with them will do a world of good.”

“I regret all of my life choices,” Bruce mutters as he grabs his bag. “Are any of these things even safe to bring around 5th graders? I wouldn’t even trust a high schooler with these.”

“That’s because high schoolers are little shits and don’t listen to directions. 5th graders are a bit better,” Tony says. “At least I hope so.”

Bruce looks at him with an incredulous expression. “I hope you're ready for the shitstorm of the PTA if anything goes wrong today.”

“It’ll all go to plan and we’ll help you win over your boy,” Tony replies, smiling smugly. “Now let’s get going before we’re late.”

The sense of dread Bruce is feeling just keeps growing the closer that they get to the school. It’s not like he feels unprepared to help engage the students today because working with kids is immensely easier than adults, but seeing Thor and not having a way to escape…well, it’s not helping his anxiety at all. Maybe if Thor was a bit more open to just talking, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point, but Bruce wasn’t going to go out of his way to make friends with someone who wouldn’t want to even look at him.

Once they get to the school, Tony leads them to the front desk to check in. The secretary seems a bit surprised to see all three of them there together, but Jane had assured them that everything had been cleared on her side. When the secretary clears them and points them to where Jane’s room is, Bruce can feel his hands sweating with nerves. Hopefully things will be better once he’s in the class and teaching. He’s also trying to reassure himself by knowing that Thor has to teach his own class today and probably wouldn’t be able to swing by anyways.

“Oh, you’re earlier than I was expecting!” Jane greets when the three of them walk in.

“I hope it isn’t an issue?” Pepper asks. “We can go wait somewhere else.”

“No, no, of course not. But feel free to set up anything you need to,” Jane answers. “I have to go get some things from the printer, but I’ll be back in a moment.”

Once Jane is out of the room, Bruce sighs deeply. He sets his bag down in the back, towards Jane’s desk, and takes out a small box. It’s a simple thing, like a high-tech Magic 8 Ball that has some of his magic woven through it. The main purpose is the same, but it can give more answers and takes into account the user’s vital signs. While it’s nothing special, Bruce figures it’s a fun way to explain AI to a group of ten and eleven-year olds.

“Jane? Are you in here?” a voice asks.

Bruce feels a familiar tug on his magic and he turns around and sees Thor walking in. They both freeze as they make eye-contact, caught off-guard by seeing each other. He isn’t sure why Thor looks surprised, but shrugs it off.

“Thor! It’s good to see you again,” Pepper says, trying to break the silence. “I take it you’ve been well since we last saw each other?”

“Oh, yes, I’ve been good,” Thor answers. “Have you seen Jane?”

“Ah, yes, she went to go get things from the printer a couple minutes ago, so she should be back soon,” Tony replies. “Feel free to wait here until she comes back. And also feel free to poke around at what we brought for the kids to test out if you want to.”

Thor nods, and drags his eyes back to Bruce. Still unsure of what to do, Bruce just smiles awkwardly and looks back at his item, feeling a bit silly about it now, even though he isn’t sure why. It’s not like Thor’s judgement means anything to him, at least not anymore than he wants to think about. Unfortunately, Thor seems to take that as a sign to come over and see what’s going on.

“So, what’s this thing do?” Thor inquires.

“It’s nothing exciting, to be honest,” Bruce answers awkwardly. “You know Magic 8 Balls? It’s that but just…more high-tech. Thought it would be interesting for the kids to try it out, I suppose.”

“It’ll be a good time killer if you need it,” Thor says. “How does it work? Is it any better at telling the truth?”

“Uh, so it’s able to take in the user’s vitals and bases its answers on that. So, if someone seems overly anxious about an answer, it’ll try to be a bit nicer in what it wants to say,” Bruce explains. “And I picked this since it can also sense that they’re kids, so it’ll moderate its answers a bit more than if it was an adult.”

“Oh, that’s fun. Is this something that’s going on the market?” Thor asks.

“No, I just did this for fun to see if I could do it,” Bruce answers, a bit embarrassed. “Now I just have Tony bring it to school events since it always goes over well.”

“Do you always do things just to see if you can do it?” Thor inquires, laughing a little.

“If he didn’t do that, I wouldn’t have hired him,” Tony says, butting into the conversation. “Bruce is intelligent as all hell and has pushed us a lot in the AI department. A lot of the cool progress that’s been made has been because he was just testing things out for fun.”

Bruce blushes a little bit. “It’s really not that big of a deal. My magic helps a lot with what I do, so I can’t take that much of the credit.”

Tony snorts. “Please, with how in touch you are with your magic these days, you can’t not take the credit.”

Bruce shrugs, and just leaves it at that. Thor looks at him with a curious look, obviously wanting to know what Tony meant, but Bruce doesn’t feel like elaborating on it anymore than he has to. It was a dark time in his life, and he’s still battling the side effects of it, even to this day.

“Well, sorry that took so long,” Jane says, walking back into the classroom. “Oh, Thor, what are you doing here?”

“I was just going to swing by to see if you needed any help for today,” Thor answers. “But it looks like you have it all covered.”

“I appreciate the offer anyways. Are these three behaving?” Jane asks.

Tony snorts. “With Pepper around, there won’t be any mischief to be had. Not any of the bad kind, at least.”

“I best be off to my own class,” Thor says. “It was good seeing all of you again.”

Once Thor leaves the classroom, Tony turns toward Bruce.

“So, I think I left the glasses I wanted to use in my car, could you go get them for me?” Tony asks.

“Why me? Can’t you go grab them?” Bruce asks, confused. “Do you even need them that badly?”

“I want to make sure my stuff is all set up here, it’s not my fault I can’t just use one thing for my whole lesson,” Tony says.

“Fine, I’ll go get it,” Bruce groans, knowing that there’s no point in arguing.

Once Bruce has left the room, Tony and Pepper turn to Jane with an intensity in their eyes. 

“So, now that they’re both out of the room, what do you think of the thing that’s going on with Bruce and Thor?” Pepper inquires. “I am guessing that Thor has brought it up.”

“Oh, yes, he has. I was actually going to reach out to the two of you at some point about it,” Jane replies. “I think it would be good for them to get to know each other, but I feel like Thor has too much pushback to it. He’s just…not wanting to open up.”

“Is today going to help any? Like seeing Bruce with the kids?” Tony asks. “And I know it’s not just Thor not wanting to open up. I’ve been through the worst of it with Bruce and it wasn’t pretty. But…even if they end up just being friends or never talking again, I want them to at least try.”

“I just don’t want to push them too much,” Jane says. “Thor’s magic has been a bit out of it lately, and I feel like pushing him could result in it getting worse.”

“Bruce was there once and I promise you, pushing him out of his comfort zone could really help,” Tony replies. “It’s not my place to say anymore than that, but it’s something to think about.”

“I agree,” Pepper says. “I saw the aftermath of what happened with Bruce and the only way to bring him out of his shell was to nudge him in the right direction, even if he didn’t like it. There’s potential there, I can sense it.”

“I’ll consider it,” Jane sighs. “And we can talk more about this later. For now, just finish getting set up because once the kids get here, you’ll get nothing done.”

Once Bruce comes back with Tony’s glasses, kids start showing up a few minutes later. Things seem to go as smooth as possible, but it’s definitely a lot to take in for Bruce. The kids are great for the most part, and hang on every word they have to say. By the end of the day, Bruce is feeling exhausted and has no idea how teachers do this every single day.

“God, I respect teachers so much more,” Bruce groans once the last kid has left the room. “The students are wonderful, but dear god.”

Jane snorts. “There’s definitely an art to it, I won’t deny that. But I appreciate you all doing so well with them, I know it’s hard for people who aren’t used to it."

“It’s good practice,” Pepper says. “And I suppose it isn’t too far from CEO meetings.”

“I feel like I should be more surprised by that,” Jane says.

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not,” Tony replies. “Pepper, Bruce, and I are going to go grab dinner if you want to join us. The invite is also welcome to Thor if you think he’d want to tag along.”

“I’ll make him join us even if he doesn’t want to,” Jane says. “I know he was planning on just eating leftovers tonight, so he doesn’t have plans. I’ll meet you all in the parking lot in like 15 minutes or so?”

“Sounds perfect,” Pepper says.

~ ~ ~

“Thor, we’re getting dinner with Tony, Pepper, and Bruce,” Jane says, walking into Thor’s classroom.

“We are?” Thor asks, confused. “What if I had plans?”

“You don’t have plans, you were just going to each leftover food, have a beer, and watch Netflix tonight,” Jane answers. “I already told them that you were coming, so you can’t bail on me.”

“Did you consider if I didn’t want to go?” Thor inquires. “Because I don’t want to.”

“Thor, I’m going to push you out of your comfort zone and make you come with. Besides, it looks like you and Bruce were getting along just fine this morning.”  
“It’s just because I was curious.”

“Considering you’ve tried to murder him with your stare every time before this, I think you’ll be fine. Just give him a chance tonight and I’ll leave you alone if things go spectacularly bad.”

“I’ll hold you to that promise, Jane.”

“Good, because I know I’m right.”

Thor just rolls his eyes and continues to pack up his bag. Things felt better with Bruce this morning, but he felt like it was because there was a buffer between the two of them. Neither of them had to focus on the other, and it was easy. He barely noticed his magic reaching out to Bruce at all. So, maybe Jane had a point that the two of them could be at least friendly with each other, if not friends or…something more.

When they get to the parking lot, Pepper, Tony, and Bruce are standing next to a nondescript black SUV that probably costs as much as Thor earns in a year. Tony and Pepper smile brightly when they see Jane and Thor walk out of the building. Something about it makes him feel nervous, but he tries to not think about it. He would rather not think about anything they have up their sleeves.

“So, I just got reservations at this Mexican place that Pepper and I love. It’s a witch-owned business, if that’s okay with you, Jane?” Tony asks.

“Of course, it’s fine with me,” Jane answers. “Text Thor and I the address and we’ll meet you there?”

Tony nods and sends them the address. It’s a little bit of the drive, but it’s in one of Thor’s favorite parts of town. Plenty of witches set up their businesses in that district and it always eases his magic in a way that he can’t explain. With that, they all get in their respective cars and head off to the restaurant.

Thor takes this as a moment to think over what he wants to do about Bruce. He knows that he’s been pulling back from getting to know him more, but if life was going to keep making the two of them meet up, then it might not hurt to at least try a little. Things were easy this morning, and it might be a precursor to how their relationship might unfold, if anything even happens. Thor gets so wrapped up in thinking, it feels like no time before he’s parking by the restaurant.

The rest of the group isn’t too far behind, and meet Thor at the front door. As the waiter leads them to the table, everyone is getting the pleasantries out of the way. By the time they’ve all decided on what to eat, things start moving to more substantial topics.

“So, I never figured out why you went to teach,” Tony says to Thor. “Was it a practicality choice?”

“Yeah, I suppose so. Teaching is a stable enough job, even if it doesn’t earn much. And I didn’t want anything to do with the family business, which is why I avoided the sciences,” Thor explains. “This job has been good to me for the most part. It’s…this isn’t what I imagined for my life, but it’s better than if I decided to stay with my family.”

“It suits you well,” Tony compliments. “Bruce wasn’t supposed to end up where he is now either, but life has a funny way of working out.”

Bruce blushes, and Thor turns a questioning glance his way. Bruce seems to close in on himself a little bit, but then seems to find some type of courage. Thor can sense his magic trying to reach out to Bruce to comfort the other witch. He pulls his magic back, but there was some hesitance that wasn’t there before.

“My parents weren’t sure how to help me with my magic, so growing up, things were pretty messy,” Bruce explains. “My magic needed an outlet, but we didn’t know what to do with it all. They did their best, but things were pretty bad for a while. It took a lot of work, and way more help than I would ever want to admit, but I’m in a much better place now.”

Thor isn’t sure what to say, so he smiles softly over at Bruce, and let’s a bit of his magic leak over to show some type of support. Bruce’s eyes widen a little, meaning he feels Thor’s magic. He’s grateful Bruce doesn’t react anymore, not wanting any attention brought to it.

“Well, uh, anybody else wants to share their life story?” Bruce asks, awkwardly.

Pepper snorts. “I think this enough of a heart-to-heart for today.”

Things move onto lighter subjects, and Thor finds that he enjoys the company. It’s…strange to be eating dinner with Tony Stark, but something about this makes him feel at ease. He can’t even remember the last time he had dinner with someone other than Jane or Eva. His magic basks in the warmth of being surrounded by other witches as well.

By the time dinner is over, Thor hates to admit it, but he had a good time. He doesn’t want to let Jane know, but he has a feeling that she’ll be able to tell, even without him saying anything. Once they head outside, they all linger a bit longer, finishing up conversations.

Bruce walks over to Thor and says, “Thanks for that today. I know things are weird between us, but…”

“Of course, any good witch would offer comfort,” Thor replies, feeling a bit awkward.

“You still didn’t have too,” Bruce says. “But I had a good time tonight. Would you, uh, maybe want to meet up again? Just to talk and get to know each other a little bit better.”

Thor is a little bit taken aback by Bruce’s boldness, but he supposes it's better than skirting around the issue. Something tells him that Tony and Pepper have been pushing him, just like Jane has been pushing Thor to say something.

“Uh, sure,” Thor replies.

They quickly exchange numbers, trying to pretend like their friends aren’t staring them down. It’s a bit awkward, but hopefully this gets them off their backs. Things wrap up quickly from there, and then Tony, Pepper, and Bruce are off to their SUV.

“So, are you on good terms now?” Jane asks.

“I didn’t ask for his number to harass him,” Thor snorts. “I’m not that type of asshole. We’re just going to talk a little bit.”

“Just talk?”

“Yes, just to talk, Jane. I don’t even know if we’re going to do anything after this. I just want to figure out why our magic seems to keep pulling us together.”

Jane smiles smugly. “I’m glad I won’t have to harass you about it anymore. And it’s good that you’re making friends.”

“Oh my god, you’re the worst.”

“We’ve already had this conversation and we established that it’s in fact you that’s the worst.”

“This again? Seriously?”

Jane just laughs in response.

~ ~ ~

“That seems like it went well,” Pepper says. “I saw the two of you exchanging numbers.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Bruce mumbles. “We’re just going to talk, that’s it. I don’t have any expectations for this to turn into anything.”

“It’s okay, though, to have expectations,” Tony replies. “It’s not like the two of you have to walk out of this being best friends, but it would be nice for you to let someone else in.”

Bruce smiles sadly. “I know that you’re looking out for me, but I promise that I’ll be fine with whatever happens. He’s barely even talked to me up to this point, and I don’t want to expect something that Thor wouldn’t be comfortable with.”

Tony just sighs, but Pepper looks over at Bruce with an intensity.

“Bruce, it’s okay to put yourself out there and expect something. It might help you when the two of you do meet up,” Pepper says. “And it might keep things clear if you want to be on the same page.”

“I guess I don’t really know what I want,” Bruce whispers. “Before today, I would have been fine with us just saying that the spark means nothing. But…I feel like we’re similar in a way and I wouldn’t be opposed getting to know more about him.”

Pepper nods, with a small smile on her face. Thankfully, her and Tony let the subject drop and move onto other things. Once they drop Bruce off at his apartment, he heads up and changes into more comfortable clothes. Max comes up and curls up with him on the couch, trying to figure out why his magic feels a bit different than usual. Bruce didn’t even realize that his magic had held onto a bit of Thor’s and this worries him a little.

He allows himself to think about what he might want with Thor. He seems like a good man; someone he would want to be friends with. But there’s a small bit of him that’s scared to let Thor in. Bruce doesn’t want to set himself up to only be disappointed, he’s felt that enough throughout his life.

And it’s not like he’s saying Thor is a bad person but…he won’t say that he’s naïve, but people haven’t always been like they seemed. He’s had to be selective with friends, even within the witch community. Bruce can hear a small voice say that it’s worth it to open his heart again, that this curiosity is worth it.

“Max, I just don’t know what to do,” Bruce groans.

It’s then that his phone pings with a text from Thor.

**I’m sorry if I made things weird. I just don’t know what to do**

_I think we both made things weird. I have no experience with any of this_ , is what Bruce texts back.

It’s a shaky offering, but it’s still a peace offering, even if it’s a shaky one. Bruce knows that they don’t have to make anything of…whatever this spark is, but he’s come to the conclusion he doesn’t want to let this slip from his grasp. Even if it’s just to get Tony and Pepper off of his back, letting someone in shouldn’t be the end of the world.

**Idk what to do either, this is just v weird**

_Same. Maybe we can just start with coffee? Seems like that’s where we run into each other the most_

**I can do coffee, but only on the weekend…in the afternoon so I can sleep in** 😊

_Whatever works for you. Maybe not next week tho? I have some things in the lab to finish up_

**Can’t even take a short break? Wouldn’t have to be long, might take the pressure off**

Bruce sighs, and decides he should at least meet Thor in the middle.

_Sure, I can do that_

😊

Bruce groans and tosses his phone off to the other side of the couch. A month ago, he was certain that they would write each other off and have nothing to do with the other. But now they’re planning on meeting up for coffee on what seems like friendly ground. It’s not what he imagined, but Bruce can feel a small seed of hope taking place and that scares him more than anything.

When Bruce tells Tony about the conversation on the following Monday, he seems rather pleased with himself. Bruce is familiar with that smug smile, knowing that it means Tony thinks he had something to do with it personally.

“Okay, sure, you were around when we exchanged phone numbers, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Bruce points out. “Besides, it’s not like you forced Thor and I to get coffee.”

“But I was the one who got the ball rolling on the two of you talking,” Tony refutes. “If I hadn’t talked to him in the café that one day, we wouldn’t have gone to the school that day. So, please let me take some credit, especially when your friendship blooms.”

“Our friendship isn’t going to bloom into anything considering that we aren’t even friends yet,” Bruce says, snorting.

“How are you not friends? You have each other’s phone numbers and are getting coffee together, that’s basically friends in your world.”

“No, it’s not, Tony.”

“When was the last time you went and hung out with someone and didn’t do anything work related? Because I’m sure it’s only been with Pepper and I the last couple of years.”

“I hate you so much and I can’t believe I said anything to you.”

Tony smiles brightly. “Just remember to invite me to the wedding. I would prefer to be the best man, but whatever works for you.”

Bruce throws a pen at him as he leaves the lab. He sighs and gets back to his project, refusing to even think about Thor anymore than he has to. Things are tentative right now, no need to push things just because Tony is getting into his head. Besides, they haven’t even really agreed to be friends, there’s no need to think beyond that.

~ ~ ~

Before Thor knows it, Saturday has rolled around and his alarm is going off to tell him to start leaving his apartment. The whole week, his stomach has felt nauseous, unsure of what to make of today. It’s not like he regrets reaching out to Bruce, even if it was to get Jane off of his back, but he can’t shake the sense of nervousness off. Things could turn out good between them, and that scared him even more than if things went south.

He tried to dress at least a little nice, making sure to pick jeans that didn’t have paint or holes in them and a shirt that isn’t dangerously thin from constant wear. Look, he isn’t trying to impress Bruce or anything, but he doesn’t want to make the impression that he doesn’t care about whatever today is. All he wants is to start off on the right foot by making sure they end up on the same page, even if Thor isn’t sure what he wants that page to be.

Thor is the first one to get to the café, so he gets his order and gets a somewhat secluded corner so that they could discuss things in private. Which, god, Thor didn’t even think of what to talk about. What should he even bring up? Small talk seems too awkward considering the things that they’ve already talked about, but everything else seems too deep to bring up in a small café.

A few minutes later, Bruce comes in, looking a bit stressed, but he smiles brightly when he spots Thor. He walks over and hangs his bag over the back of the chair across from Thor. Bruce looks similar to the very first time Thor saw him – dressed in a nice suit, hair an absolute mess, and looking extremely tired.

“Are you sure you’re okay to hang out today?” Thor asks, genuinely worried that Bruce wasn’t up for whatever this was.

“Yeah, of course, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t ready,” Bruce answers. “I’m just going to go get a coffee really quick. Shouldn’t be long considering I usually just get black.”  
Thor scrunches his nose. “I don’t see the appeal to it.”

“It’s quick and easy,” Bruce replies, shrugging. “Besides, I’m usually too focused on other things to pay much attention to the taste.”

This causes Bruce and Thor to blush a little bit before he goes to go get his coffee. Thor thinks about it, he can’t imagine being so focused on something to not be paying attention to what he’s eating. But Bruce does seem like someone who gets very intense when focusing on a project, so it might just be a practicality thing, although Thor assumes he could afford a fancy coffee every morning if he wanted it.

Once Bruce comes back, things are awkwardly quiet for a few moments, both unsure of what to say first. Thor can feel his magic reaching out to Bruce’s, and he gently tugs it back. His magic is confused, but settles down since it can sense that Bruce isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

“So, uh, I’ve been trying to think of what to say today but I’ve been drawing blanks,” Bruce says honestly. “I just…don’t really know what there is to talk about. But I felt the need to come anyways, I guess.”

Thor laughs a little. “Then I guess we’re in the same boat. I feel like…we’re just in different places in life and I don’t know what to say.”

“Different places? In what sense?” Bruce asks, seeming genuinely curious.

“It’s just…I could have been where you’re at if I didn’t change my mind. And I guess it’s just a weird reminder or whatever,” Thor explains. “But now I’m a teacher and I feel like that puts me in a different spot than a tech genius.”

Bruce snorts. “A tech genius? You’re being awfully kind here.”

“Look, you made a high-tech Magic 8 Ball for fun! Who else does that?”

“Someone who’s just passionate about what they do. It doesn’t make me extra smart just because I do more work. I feel like that makes me kind of dumb, doing more work for no extra money.”

“That’s not really my point. Like how do you have enough brain power to keep going? I feel like I’m drained at the end of the school day and I can’t imagine doing anything on top of that.”

Bruce shrugs. “I’ve always immersed myself in my work. It’s helped me escape a lot of things…helped me ignore a lot of things as well. I just enjoy what I do and use it as an excuse to avoid doing anything else.”

“Maybe we’re not so different after all,” Thor replies, feeling a sense of sadness come over him. “I wrap myself so much in my work that Jane has become my alarm clock for keeping my life together. I just want things to be great for the kids and it’s hard for me to not get wrapped up in the work.”

Bruce smiles at him, a bit sadly. “What you’re doing is just as important and makes you just as smart as me. Even if it’s not the same thing. Just because I’m smart in tech doesn’t diminish anything you’ve done, Thor.”

“That’s what Jane has been telling me.”

“She’s right. I’m sorry if I’ve ever done anything to make you feel otherwise.”

“God, it’s never been you, I guess I’ve just been feeling scared.”

“That would make two of us then.”

Silence falls over them and Thor doesn’t feel like pushing whatever tentative truce they have. Whatever they have going on at the moment, Thor doesn’t want to ruin it. It’s been nice talking to Bruce…he’s not sure what this is going to turn into, but it’s good to have someone who understands where he’s coming from. Maybe Thor isn’t totally opposed to getting to know Bruce more.

“So, uh, how’s the school year going?” Bruce asks, in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood.

“It’s…well, it’s the usual, I suppose,” Thor answers. “There’s always the kids that are my favorites and ones I know I need to work with a bit more. Third graders are always in a weird stage of being young kids. Still easier than dealing with adults though.”

“At least you’re decent in dealing with people,” Bruce jokes.

Thor just raises an eyebrow, not sure what to make of the comment.

“Oh, well, I guess Tony hasn’t made the joke in front of you yet,” Bruce replies, blushing. “It’s just…Tony always says I deal better with tech than people and it’s why I don’t have friends.”

“That…doesn’t sound like a nice thing to joke about.”

“No, no, he’s right and I see no harm in it. With my magic being so tech focused, it was hard to draw it away from tech to actually connect with other witches,” Bruce explains. “My magic usually doesn’t see a point in other people.”

“And nobody helped draw you out from that?” Thor inquires.

Bruce shrugs. “I mean, you know that tech magic isn’t that common. Nobody knew if that was normal or not, so they just let me do my own thing. I really don’t think it was the right choice, but everyone was doing the best that they could.”

“I would like to beg to differ, but I wasn’t there,” Thor says softly. “I guess my parents were almost similar. I have lightning magic, and it’s extremely common in my family. So, they just treated my magic like they did with everyone else. But that’s not what I needed; my magic needed a powerful outlet. All of it was too much for me to handle, especially as a kid.”

“Has it gotten better, though? You magic seems…calm, at least calmer than when I saw you for the first time,” Bruce comments.

Thor freezes a little when he remembers that their first spark was before the explosion that put Bruce’s best friend in the hospital for almost a month. He decides to play it off, not wanting to admit to Bruce that he was the culprit. If they were on steadier ground, Thor would consider saying something, but they’re on thin ice as is.

“Um, yes, it’s been hard letting it go free, but I’ve found a few tricks,” Thor answers nervously.

“Are…you okay? Your magic acted a little funny.”

Thor laughs awkwardly. “No, no it’s okay. It always acts funny when I talk about it.”

“Okay, if you say so,” Bruce says, obviously not believing Thor.

“So, um, how did you end up working for Tony?” Thor asks, trying to distract Bruce from asking any more questions.

“Oh, well, I guess he found me more than me finding him,” Bruce replies. “He has a funny way of finding the people that need him. Tony had heard through the grapevine that I was a skilled tech witch, but I was…not working in my field. It took me a while to trust him, especially my magic, but he kept finding ways to include himself in my life. Haven’t gotten rid of him since.”

“That sounds very in character for him.”

“Yeah, once he decides he likes you, he won’t let go. But I’m glad he’s like that because I don’t know what I would be doing if he hadn’t offered me a safe space to get better. My magic was haywire for a few years, and I couldn’t control it. Almost killed me a few times, but Tony helped me find an outlet for it.”

“I’m glad you were able to find something. I’m still looking for an outlet myself…at least a healthy one.”

“Tony could find something for you, I have no doubt about it,” Bruce says. “I don’t know what your magic likes, but…I’m sure we could find something.”

Thor snorts. “My magic is very destructive. Not in a bad way, but it’s just a lot for some objects to handle.”

“Like I said, Tony or I could figure something out,” Bruce replies, shrugging. “It’s good for your magic to have a healthy outlet, otherwise it could do something stupid. I have too much experience with that.”

Thor lets a nervous laugh pass through his lips, and freezes again. Bruce looks at him inquisitively, like he’s trying to work something through his head. A few moments pass, Thor unsure of what to do. Surely Bruce wouldn’t figure out what he did, because he’s not sure he could handle the backlash if he did. But Bruce has his eyebrows bunched together, like he’s trying to piece something together. Then after a couple of tense moments, Bruce speaks up.

“Is there something you want to tell me, Thor? Because what I’m guessing isn’t very good.”

“And what’s your guess?” Thor whispers, his voice and heart breaking simultaneously.

“Please stop me if I’m wrong, but…I saw you going to the clinic around the same time as Tony and you said that your magic is destructive. It’s a long shot, but I also noticed a change in your magic between our first meeting,” Bruce explains. “It’s not calmed down, but there’s something that’s at ease about it now that I feel like a big explosion might have done it.”

“I…” Thor starts to say, wanting to lie, but he’s always been a bad liar. “This isn’t how I was planning on saying it, if I was even going to say anything.”

Bruce is starting to look more and more distraught and Thor doesn’t know what to do, even if there is anything to do. He should have figured that Bruce would figure out his secret eventually, there wasn’t any way that Thor could have hid it forever. God, Thor hopes that Bruce doesn’t report him to authorities because while he might deserve it, things were finally starting to fall in place for him.

“I’m sorry, I should go,” Bruce says softly. “I’m…I promise I won’t say anything to the police, unless Tony wants to sue because fuck I can’t keep this from him.”

“Of course,” Thor whispers.

Bruce gets up, grabs his bag and leaves. Thor sighs and decides to head out as well. The walk back to his apartment passes by in a blur, and once he gets inside, he face plants onto his bed and screams. This isn’t how he wanted today to god, he was genuinely hoping for something good to come of all of this. But Thor supposes that this is how things are supposed to turn out for him, fate never letting him have something good for too long.

Eva curls up next to him and does her best to comfort him. Thor pets her mindlessly, trying to think about anything other than today, but fails miserably. Sure, he wasn’t enthusiastic about becoming friends with Bruce, but he finally decided to let someone in, someone who could understand where he was coming from. In the end, things were doomed to fail before they even started.


	5. Endurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While things may have taken a sour turn, Thor does everything he can to make things better with Bruce.

_“But I must admit that I miss you terribly. The world is too quiet without you nearby.”_

“Wait, you’re telling me that Thor was the one who caused this whole thing?” Tony asks in disbelief.

“I guess so,” Bruce whispers. “I just…I know why he didn’t say anything, but god, I can’t believe it still.”

“Have you talked to him since yesterday?”

“No, why would I talk to him?” Bruce spits out. “He almost killed you, Tony. I almost lost my best friend because of him. What else am I supposed to do?”

“Look, I’m angry at him too because those three weeks were horrible. But…”

“Tony, you’re not going to forgive him, are you?”

“Not at the moment, because I’m pissed at him, but he needs help. He needs someone to be there for him.”

“That doesn’t have to be us. He has Jane there to support him.”

“I’m just saying that we have the resources to help his magic to make sure he doesn’t do something like that again. I ended up fine because I could afford the care. But what if it ends up worse next time? I just see so much of yourself in him that I can’t help but want to help him.”

Bruce sighs. “Fine, but I don’t think I want to facilitate that conversation. I’m sure he already assumes that I told you.”

“Okay, sure, if you’re okay with having him in the labs,” Tony says. “Not your labs specifically, but still in the building.”

Bruce nods tersely. “Sure, whatever you think is best. But…I think I’m going to go and try to refocus.”

Tony gives him a tight hug before Bruce leaves. In all honesty, Bruce doesn’t know why he feels so betrayed. It’s not like they were great friends or anything, but he just wasn’t expecting this from Thor of all people. And…he wanted whatever they had to turn into something good. He can see so much of himself in Thor and it breaks his heart.

When he gets home, he curls up on the couch with Max. There’s a small part of him that wants to forgive Thor and forget this ever happened. But Thor almost killed one of the few people Bruce trusts. And for that, he can’t just let this go. His magic wants to go back to Thor and make things better, but for the first time in a while, he pushes his magic back and silences it. It’s not one of his best moments, but he tries to not think about it.

For a couple of weeks, Bruce doesn’t hear anything about Thor again from Tony and he assumes it's all being handled without a hitch. Thankfully, things seem to be getting along fine without him and he hopes that it stays that way. So, Bruce completely immerses himself in his work and falls back into long days at the lab. It’s the one way for him to stop thinking about forgiving Thor.

It’s when Bruce is coming back from getting a late afternoon coffee that he sees Thor again for the first time in almost a month. Bruce’s magic flickers from the hole that he shoved it into weeks ago, wanting to reach out and feel the spark again. He shoves it back down, refusing to let his magic reconnect with Thor.

“You’re looking better,” Bruce whispers, unsure of what else to say.

“Thank you, Tony has been helping a lot,” Thor replies, awkwardly. “I, uh, guess I’ll see you around?”

“Sure,” is Bruce’s reply before he walks past him, back to the labs.

Once Bruce walks back into the lab, he sits down at his desk and groans. Thor is looking better, happier. And something about that hurts him, that Thor is looking better without him there. Something deep down is saying that he wanted to be a part of that process, but Bruce doesn’t allow himself to think about it all that long. No matter what happens, he has to look out for himself, it’s what he deserves.

From then on out, Bruce scarcely leaves the lab unless he absolutely has to, in fear of seeing Thor again. He knows that he would eventually cave and let Thor back in. No matter what Tony says, it’s not unhealthy and he doesn’t need Thor.

“Look, Bruce, I’m angry, but I get that it wasn’t totally his fault. He never meant for all of it to happen this way,” Tony says. “I don’t know why you can’t see that.”

“He was being stupid!” Bruce exclaims.

“No, he was looking out for himself,” Tony points out. “And while I happened to end up in the hospital because of it, I can’t fault him for wanting his magic to be free. Can’t you see yourself in him?”

“I hid for years so I wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Bruce says, his voice trembling, with tears threatening to fall from his eyes. “I knew I was in no spot to be around people, so I avoided them until I could get better on my own.”

“But you couldn’t get better on your own. You needed my help!” Tony shouts.

Immediately, Tony regrets his words, knowing he said them to just cut deep.

“I think I’m going to take that break you wanted me to take so badly,” Bruce says, voice shaking. “I hope you have fun with your new pet project.”

“Bruce, I didn’t mean it,” Tony says, reaching out to him.

“Yes, you did. Just give me some space.”

“I’m sorry,” Tony whispers as he leaves.

Tony sits down in Bruce’s office chair, and groans. This isn’t how he thought the conversation would go, all he wanted was to show that Bruce and Thor were similar. But…Bruce is still hurt over it and Tony has to understand that, even if it’s a struggle. Pepper ends up coming into the lab, looking concerned.

“I saw Bruce leaving, and he was saying that he was taking a vacation,” Pepper says. “What did you say to him?”

“I was just trying to explain Thor’s side of the whole fiasco,” Tony sighs. “But…Bruce just can’t see reason.”

“He almost lost you, Tony. You’re his only friend. I think he’s in a spot to not really want to forgive him right now.”

“But I was able to.”

“We all forgive in our own time. You should know that more than anyone else. I promise that whatever is going on will work out. Even if Bruce never decides to talk to Thor again, he’ll come to it on his own terms.”

“I just want Bruce to be happy,” Tony whispers. “He deserves to be happy, more than anyone I know. And Thor was a good shot at it.”

“I promise that things will be fine in time, we just need to not push Bruce. He’ll work through it as he’s able to.”

“But he keeps pouring himself into his work, I don’t see how that’s helping anything!”

“He’s always felt more comfortable with tech than working through his emotions. This was his safe space to work through it all on his own terms. And at least he had the chance to see Thor here. Now he’s probably going to lock himself in his apartment. And I’m worried for him,” Pepper explains softly. “I think he cares more than he wants to admit.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him, I’m sure he’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

“And if he isn’t?”

“I don’t know.”

~ ~ ~

“So…things aren’t going well?” Jane asks hesitantly.

Jane was visiting Thor on a dreary Saturday to keep him company, noticing that he had seemed out of it the week, ever since his coffee date with Bruce. Something was visibly bothering him and Thor tends not to say anything unless she keeps pestering him. The last time Thor didn’t say anything, things didn’t end well.

“Bruce found out about my explosion,” Thor whispers. “He pieced things together and now he won’t talk to me or Tony. I’ve been talking to Stark because he’s letting me come by the labs to figure out what to do with my magic. But…we haven’t heard anything and he’s not responding to our calls or texts.”

“He’s smart, so I guess it isn’t too much of a surprise that he found out. And while I can’t say that I blame him for being angry, it’s worrying that he hasn’t reached out. Is he still in his apartment?”

“There’s nothing to suggest that he left anywhere. But I guess if he wanted to hide his tracks, he could.”

“Has Tony said what he’s going to do if Bruce just…doesn’t come back?”

Thor shrugs. “Not yet, because he doesn’t want to give up hope. I didn’t think I would be so worried over this. And I can’t tell if I’m worried for Bruce or myself.”

“It’s okay if it’s both,” Jane whispers. “He’s a good man and if things were going well…”

“We barely even talked! Like…last weekend was the first time we talked when it was just us. So, I don’t get why I care so much.”

“Thor, you can tell me if I’m totally off-base with this, but you told me once that witches form attachments with people and sometimes, it doesn’t take much to form them,” Jane explains. “I know you say that a spark signals the possibility of an attachment, but once the spark leaves, the attachment is formed. It’s not a bond, but maybe you were so worried about everything else, you just didn’t notice.”

Thor pales a little bit. “I guess it’s possible to not notice an attachment forming if it’s made slow enough. And my magic reached out to his when we had dinner…I wouldn’t doubt if that’s what happened.”

“Well…do you think it would be smart to tell him?”

“I’m not sure,” Thor whispers. “Something tells me it might make it worse.”

“Do you think Tony would know?”

“I’ll ask him when I go in on Monday. I’d prefer to ask him in person.”

“Okay,” Jane says, worried. “Are you going to be okay by yourself? I can stay here if you need me to.”

“Yeah, I just think I want to drown in Netflix and junk food.”

“Call me if you need anything,” Jane says, getting up from the couch.

Once Jane leaves, Thor pushes all thoughts of Bruce from out of his head. He doesn’t want to think of the possibility of an attachment being formed. Attachments are nowhere near the level of bonds and can form spontaneously, and they’re needed before a bond can be formed. They also can be broken without causing too much pain to the parties involved. If Jane is right, and there is an attachment between Bruce and Thor, he wants to get it broken because he can’t imagine a world where Bruce would still want to be connected to him.

By the time Monday afternoon rolls around, Thor is walking into the lab that Tony gave him access to. He’s a little worried about bringing up the possible attachment, but if Tony thinks it could help Bruce…then he’ll talk it out.

“Something distracting you today?” Tony asks when he walks into the room. “You’re less…sparky today.”

“It’s just…Jane brought up something and I don’t know if there’s anything to it,” Thor answers.

“Well, if she thinks it’s a possibility, then I don’t see why it wouldn’t be a good guess.”

“She thinks that Bruce and I might have formed an attachment at some point, which is why I feel so weird about all of this. But I can’t tell if it’s an attachment or me just being a normal person and being sad about everything. And obviously the only way to tell would be…”

“Seeing Bruce again, right? God, this just keeps getting worse,” Tony groans. “Not that the attachment is a bad thing, but considering Bruce is good at dropping off the face of the planet if he wants to is a bit worrying.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” Thor snorts. “Would it help if I texted him? Or left a voicemail?”

“Maybe if you told him you wanted to break it. Not that I want that to happen, but it might be the only way to draw him out of his apartment, if he’s even there. I think it’ll be a good thing for you to try, if you’re comfortable with it.”

“I hate this so much,” Thor groans. “I don’t want to break it either, but if it means that it helps him…”

“Well, looks like we have an answer. Want to destroy some stuff now?”

“I don’t want to wreck anything,” Thor replies, frowning.

“It’s a tough time and this is all junk anyways.”

“You told me these were prototypes.”

“Yeah, from like five years ago. I won’t miss them and I have all the plans saved anyways. I’ll make my way out and keep me updated!”

When Tony leaves, Thor lets out a guttural scream and lets his magic loose. It rips out of him like a summer thunderstorm, destroying everything in its path. This type of freedom hasn’t been allowed to his magic in a long time, and it delights in rushing through the prototypes. Nothing is left whole in its wake. By the time it calmed to mere static, the air smells of the havoc it wreaked. It’s the best Thor has felt in a long time.

~ ~ ~

Bruce gets another text from Thor, but this time it’s something different. Thor is saying they might have an attachment and unless he wants them to be attached forever, Bruce is going to have to come by the labs to break it. For a moment, the thought that being attached to Thor wouldn’t be so bad. But then the bitter anger fills him again.

Max tries to calm his magic, to ease the hate that fills him, but he can only do so much. This type of anger hasn’t seeped through his bones in a long time and Bruce forgot how exhausting it is. He wants to forgive Thor, just like Tony has, but he doesn’t want to be hurt again. And that’s really the core of the issue – he doesn’t want to be left behind.

So, Bruce doesn’t reply right away, thinking about it all. An attachment to Thor really wouldn’t be that bad, but he feels bad for all of the animosity that he’s held. He deserves to feel the resentment over the fact that Thor almost caused him to lose his best friend. But…at the end of the day, he really didn’t mean to do it, and it pains Bruce to admit it.

Bruce can tell by how much Thor has reached out to him the last week, despite the ignored calls and texts. At this point in his life, he’s so tired of feeling so much outrage and he tries to work through it. If Bruce keeps holding onto this bitterness, he wouldn’t only lose Thor, but he could lose Tony as well.

He waits until the following day, but Bruce decides to text Thor.

_Can we talk about the attachment more? Before we break it. I understand that you don’t want to be attached to me, but I want to know what it’s like._

Thor doesn’t respond right away since he’s probably teaching, so Bruce stews in his feelings while petting Max. It’s odd, feeling any type of relief after feeling so much resentment last week. The more he thinks about it, the more Bruce feels guilty. He shouldn’t have just bailed on Tony, that was a shitty move. But Thor…he felt more complicated feelings toward him than he wants to admit.

A few hours later, Thor finally responds with, **it’s good to know you’re alive. We were all worried about you. And who said I don’t want to be attached to you?**

The last sentence makes Bruce flush, even though he knows it doesn’t really mean anything.

_Idk, I was kind of shitty last week. I get it if you just want this all to be over with_

**You deserved to be angry, Bruce. What I did was stupid and reckless. But I want to see you again. Please.**

_Okay. I just need a little more time. Can we meet next week? I just…need to be alone a little bit longer._

**Of course, anything to help. I’ll be here for when you need it.**

And something about that just hits Bruce right where it hurts. Max meows loudly and pushes his head into Bruce’s hand. There’s something about this all that just makes him ache for someone other than Tony being there for him. Tony has a life with Pepper now and can’t support him in the same capacity.

Bruce decides to text Tony, feeling like it’s unfair to ignore him. _I’m sure Thor told you already, but I’ll come in to figure out the attachment soon._

**I’ll be there for you, whatever that may mean. I don’t want to lose you.**

_Thank you._

He decides to leave it at that and allows himself to think about the new developments.

~ ~ ~

It’s been a little over a week since Bruce and Thor had talked, and Bruce had agreed to come into the labs on a rainy Saturday evening. Thor is apprehensive over what’s going to happen, despite Bruce seeming open to whatever is going to happen today. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, the thought of losing Bruce caused him some anxiety.

When Bruce enters the building, Thor’s magic perks up and wants to go to him immediately. But Thor draws it back, not wanting to overwhelm him. It was already a struggle to get him here, there’s no need to scare him off with the magic being overly friendly, even if it’s what Thor wants.

As Bruce walks in and makes eye contact with Thor, the moment slows and freezes. Something snaps into place for the both of them, and then everything feels like too much. There’s so much confusion and bitterness that doesn’t feel like his own and in that moment, Thor realizes that this is an attachment, not what he was feeling before. All of the intense emotions that he was feeling before must have been a precursor to what could be.

“What the fuck,” Bruce whispers. “I thought you said we already had an attachment.”

“I thought we did,” Thor replies. “I didn’t know that it would feel like this.”

Pepper and Tony decide to walk into the lab at that moment, and confusion crosses their face as they take in the scene in front of them. Thor isn’t sure what to do, unaware that an attachment could be felt so deeply. It appears that Bruce is trying to process it all as well.

“Apparently we were wrong about the attachment,” Thor grits out. “Our magic just formed it.”

“Good lord, only you two could form some freaky deep attachment,” Tony sighs. “Let’s just take a seat to take this all in and then we can talk.”

Bruce takes a seat in the corner of the room, where there’s no seats surrounding him. Thor sits as close as he can and just tries to calm his magic down. While forming an attachment isn’t a rare thing, it’s still uncommon enough that he hasn’t formed one since meeting Jane. The emotions feel deeper than with Jane, but maybe it’s because they’ve been putting things off for so long.

“I’m…this is different than I thought it would be,” Thor whispers. “It feels like there’s so much more to take in.”

“Have you considered that it’s because neither of you are willing to have attachments in the first place?” Tony asks.

“It would make sense. If neither of you consistently form them like most other people, it would make sense that your magic would feel everything deeper,” Pepper explains.

Bruce sighs. “I guess that would make sense.”

Thor just shrugs in agreement.

“Okay, since this obviously isn’t how we planned today going, how do you feel about us grabbing lunch and talking through this?” Pepper inquires. “We can eat here if you would be more comfortable with that.”

“Yes, I’d prefer to eat here. And, um, can I just hang back? This is…messing with me,” Bruce whispers.

“Of course,” Tony says softly. “Pepper and I will just run down to the café down the road and get everyone’s usual orders.”

When they leave, Thor turns to Bruce. He’s slumped in his seat, refusing to make eye contact with Thor. He feels guilty about being wrong about the attachment, but having Bruce here means so much to him. Looking at him more closely, though, reveals that Bruce doesn’t look all that great. He looks exhausted and rundown.

“I’m sorry for everything,” Thor whispers. “If I had realized that we actually didn’t have an attachment, I don’t think I would have said anything.”

Bruce lets out a bitter laugh. “This is just a lot to take in. I think I’m angrier at myself, more than anything. I just…this whole thing is too much. And I mean, you saying something got me out of the apartment for the first time in almost two weeks. Can’t be too mad about that, I suppose.”

“Still, I’m sorry. This whole thing is so messy and I never wanted to hurt you, even in the beginning,” Thor explains. “I was just scared and that led me to taking it out on you.”

“I guess neither of us dealt with our fear that well,” Bruce says sadly. “I haven’t let anyone in so long and I’ve been scared about letting you in because I don’t know you that well.”

“We can change that.”

Bruce smiles sadly. “I feel like I’ve fucked this up too badly for that.”

“We’ve both done shitty things, more so on my end. I promise that we can figure this out, and whatever you want to do, however you want to include me in your life, I’ll be okay with it.”

“I don’t think I deserve that,” Bruce whispers.

Thor shrugs. “We’ll figure it out.”

They sit in silence until Tony and Pepper come back. They fill the quietness with small talk, unsure of where to push Thor and Bruce. As the conversation continues on, Thor can see Bruce opening up a bit and looking calmer. Pepper and Tony seem nervous to push Bruce into talking about what happened, so there’s a lapse in conversation when they finish eating.

“You know, I almost relapsed the last couple of weeks,” Bruce whispers. “I was retreating so much into myself, like when I was younger. I’m still kind of in that place, but…it could get better if I wanted it to.”

Bruce looks up and makes eye contact with Thor. He can feel a bit of optimism through the fragile attachment that they have. And who would he be to deny that feeling, what could be the last shred of hope that Bruce has.

“I don’t see why not,” is all Thor says.

“Just don’t disappear on me again, okay?” Tony says, tearing up. “I thought I was losing you and that scared the shit out of me.”

Bruce smiles softly. “I’ll do my best. But…this is a lot for me to take in at once.”

Tony and Pepper seem to soften a little at that. Thor doesn’t really know what happened in the early years of their friendship, but it sounds like a lot. Whatever Thor can do to make sure things don’t go back to the way they were, he’ll do.

“So, um, what next?” Thor inquires. “I just…don’t know what to do, I guess.”

“I’m up for trying out being friends again if you want to,” Bruce says softly, like he’s expecting backlash.

“Of course we can,” Thor replies, trying to send positive vibes to Bruce.

Bruce smiles a little, so it must work.

“What am I missing here?” Pepper asks, looking between the two of them.

“Nothing you need to know about,” Bruce snorts.

“I can’t believe the two of you are already communicating without words! It took me months to be able to do that with Bruce,” Tony complains. “And that was _after_ we had bonded.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about, Tony,” Bruce replies. “Today was good, but I think I want to go home now. It’s been a lot to take in.”

Thor nods. “I’m sorry for making this worse.”

“You didn’t, though,” Bruce says softly. “I’ll be in touch this time, I promise.”

Thor’s magic feels warm for the first time in a while, and he feels wishful for whatever is going to happen next.

~ ~ ~

Bruce makes sure to keep in contact with Thor, even if it’s a simple hello. His magic feels worn, like it’s been worn from all the intensity of the new attachment. There’s still some resentment and he felt like that wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. But things were tentatively resolved between the two of them and it’s felt like a new beginning. Even if he’s unsure of what he wants to do, there’s the small part of him that wants to see how far he can push things. There’s a certain ease he feels with Thor, something he hasn’t felt in a long time.

It’s been almost three weeks since he’s been back to work, but he decides to go in on a quiet Monday morning. When he doesn’t see Tony or Thor, he’s a little relieved since he won’t have to try and make conversation. Bruce just isn’t sure if he wants to disturb the fragile friendship that he and Thor have started to build over text.

Tony comes walking in the lab a few days later, probably to check on how everyone is doing, and is surprised to see Bruce there. He notices that Bruce has a new demeanor to him, like he’s found a missing puzzle piece he wasn’t aware that was gone. The way he’s handling himself reminds Tony of when they first bonded and it gives him some reassurance that Bruce is going to be okay.

“It’s good to see you here again,” Tony says. “I missed having you around.”

“I missed being here,” Bruce replies. “I’m disappointed with myself that I let myself fall back into that headspace again.”

“You had a lot dumped onto you, it’s understandable. It wasn’t healthy, but I get it.”

“I know, but it’s good to be doing what I love again.”

“Have you seen Thor yet?”

“Not yet, I just wanted to get back into my routine first. I wanted to feel like myself first so I didn’t do anything too stupid.”

“He would have understood, you know.”

Bruce shrugs. “I’m sure he would have, but this was more for me than anything else. I’ll probably text him soon, see if he wants a redo of that coffee date.”

“Coffee date? I wasn’t aware that it was a date.”

“It wasn’t a romantic date, Tony,” Bruce replies, blushing hard.

“Sure, whatever you say, Banner. Now, tell me what you think of these new projects.”

Things get easier from there and Bruce starts to feel like himself again. He texts Thor that night to set up a time to talk, just the two of them. Thor is gracious to be let back in, and recognizes the second chance for what it is.


	6. Exultant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor and Bruce start to feel more than just friendly feelings towards each other (aka the mutual pining chapter).

_“Two souls don’t find each other by simple accident.”_

Things are going great between Thor and Bruce right now. They’re good friends now, which isn’t something that Thor was expecting. It was a long process to get to this point, months of awkward conversations and letting the other see the cracks that they tried to hide for so long. It’s now the end of January and things seem to have settled.

Except for the small fact that Thor thinks he may have developed a crush on Bruce. He’s not really sure where the feelings started, but they’re there now. And…Thor is surprisingly okay with it. There are worse people to fall in love with than Bruce Banner. However, he holds these feelings close to him, not wanting to disrupt the calm friendship the two have felt.

And god forbid that Tony figures out that Thor is a little bit in love with his best friend. Because there’s no way that he would manage to not say anything or push Thor into admitting what he feels. There’s a small chance that Bruce returns his feelings, but he doesn’t want to ruin anything, not by running his mouth again. When Thor tells Jane about it on a Monday morning, she seems insistent on him figuring out a solution.

“You can’t just ignore it,” Jane says. “It makes you an honest man, but you wear your feelings on your face. He’ll be able to tell you're in love with him the second you look at him.”

“No, he wouldn’t!” Thor exclaims.

“Thor, I remember the time when you were half in love with me. You had major heart eyes then and I can only imagine how much worse it’s going to be with Bruce.”

“I’m not in love with him, I just have a small crush!”

“Thor, your measure of a small crush is basically being in love.”

“Just because I can see a future together doesn’t mean anything.”

“Most people don’t even start thinking about that until quite a few dates in. It’s not your fault that your feelings are a lot to handle.”

“I can’t just say anything to him,” Thor groans. “We’ve only just become good friends; I can’t ruin it.”

“Something tells me that he might be feeling the same.”

“Would that something happen to be Pepper and Tony?”

Jane snorts. “I don’t know where you got that idea.”

“Maybe the fact that you’re always texting them.”

“I won’t say that you’re wrong.”

“I knew I was right,” Thor says smugly.

“Just think about it, okay? You know what happened the last time you hid something from him.”

“I’m very aware, Jane.”

“Well, let me know when you blurt out your feelings to him and I’ll help with damage control if needed.”

“I’m not blurting anything out.”

“Whatever you say, big guy.”

Jane then heads off to her classroom and Thor groans. He knows he wears his heart on his sleeve, but he hopes that Bruce can’t pick up on it. Besides, if he hasn’t said anything yet, it probably means that he doesn’t recognize Thor’s feelings. The thought of saying anything to Bruce terrifies him, so he shoves the feelings to the back of his mind.

When he goes to the labs after school has ended, Thor seeks out Bruce. It’s become a routine for him to say hello to Bruce and talk a little. Meeting Bruce at work was easier than trying to lure him away from the projects he was working on. Thor has tried to pull him away from work in the past, but was met with resistance. As frustrating as it is, he’s glad that he’s able to see Bruce at all.

“So, anything exciting today?” Thor asks as he walks into the lab, disregarding the other people in the room.

“No, same project as last time,” Bruce answers, staring intently at the computer in front of him. “I came in this weekend to try and work out some bugs, but it’s been giving me a headache.”

“Maybe that’s a sign you should actually use your weekend as time to relax. It’ll all still be here on Monday and Max would probably enjoy the company.”

“I know, it’s just that I couldn’t stop thinking about it, I guess.”

“Then it’s definitely best that you enjoy your weekend. We’re getting lunch together on Saturday so I can draw you away for at least a little bit.”

Bruce gives him a skeptical look. “You don’t have to look after me, you know. I’ve been doing this for a long time.”

“I enjoy it,” Thor replies, shrugging.

“Oh,” Bruce says, blushing a little. “In that case then, we can get coffee on Saturday.”

Thor smiles brightly. “It’s settled then, I’ll come by your apartment?”

“Sure, see you then, Thor.”

When Thor leaves, his magic is bursting with happiness. Whatever just happened, it definitely isn’t a date, no matter what he’s thinking. And as much as he wants it to be a date, he knows that it’ll probably just be them hanging out and joking around.

~ ~ ~

“So…Thor said that he enjoyed taking care of you and asked you to coffee on Saturday?” Tony asks, a bit of skepticism in his voice. “And you’re sure that this isn’t a date?”

“Yes, it’s definitely not a date,” Bruce groans. “This is just how he is, it’s not because he’s interested in me."

“But you want it to be a date,” Tony states.

“Of course, I want it to be a date,” Bruce replies. “But it’s not going to be a date because he’s not interested in me like that. How could he be after everything?”

“I think the fact that he’s your friend now proves that he could be interested in you.”

“That’s different, though.”

“Are you sure? Because I don’t think it is. I could do some recon for you, if you wanted.”

“Tony, you are not playing matchmaker right now. If something happens, and it won’t because Thor won’t ever be interested in me, I want it to happen because we admitted our own feelings for each other.”

“But that would take forever,” Tony moans. “I’ll hold out until after Valentine’s Day, but after that, I’m interfering.”

“That’s literally two weeks away, Tony. Just…please let me figure this out on my own?” Bruce groans.

“Fine, but I won’t give you forever. I really do want you to be happy and I don’t think that Thor isn’t not interested in you. There could definitely be something there.”

“Just don’t tell him how I feel, okay? If he finds out, I want it to be on my own terms.”

“Sure, okay. I’m just really happy for you.”

“What’s there to be happy about?”

“I mean, in all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never even hinted at being interested in someone. And I think you and Thor will be good together.”

“You’re saying that like you know that we’ll end up together.”

Tony just smiles smugly as he leaves Bruce’s desk. He just sighs deeply, trying to ignore his feelings. Bruce knows that there’s worse people to be interested in than Thor, but the thought of making his feelings known are terrifying. And he knows that Thor would gently turn him down and act like nothing happened, but that just might ruin Bruce.

So, in the week leading up to getting coffee with Thor, he does his best to shove his feelings to the back of his mind. His magic is mournful over the fact that Bruce won’t say anything, but he doesn’t cave. What they have is good and solid, the thought of ruining it because his heart decides to fall in love hurts him.

Before he knows it, Saturday is rolling around. As much as Bruce doesn’t want to admit it, he spent too much time trying to pick out an outfit. Most of his clothes are well-worn and while Thor is probably used to him looking a bit worse for wear, he doesn’t want to give that impression today. When he opens the door for Thor, his breath catches a little. There’s something about him that’s just…glowing. Bruce can’t think of any other way to put it. He can feel his crush growing just a little bit bigger and he stomps down the feelings as best he can.

“So, are you ready?” Thor asks.

“Uh, yes, I just need to get my shoes on,” Bruce replies. “Do you want to come in?”

“Sure, I’d like to see where you’ve been living,” Thor says. “I also want to meet Max.”

Bruce steps out of the way, and Thor comes walking in. Once he shuts the door, he takes a deep breath. Seeing Thor in his space isn’t helping anything, as it leads to him thinking about a future they can never have. Max makes his way over to Thor and starts meowing at him loudly, begging for attention.

“Hello, beautiful boy,” Thor whispers, crouching down to pet Max.

Max is delighted with the extra attention and it’s making Bruce feel soft. Internally groaning, he goes to get some shoes on. He also decides to throw on a somewhat nice coat to complete the outfit. Bruce isn’t proud of how much effort he put into his clothes, considering that nothing is going to happen. Thor is just being a good friend and nothing else.

~ ~ ~

When Thor sees Bruce opening his apartment door on Saturday, he feels his heart grow fonder. Bruce looks good, like he took care in his appearance today. When he’s invited into Bruce’s apartment, he feels like he’s getting to see a new part of his friend. The apartment is cozy and feels well-lived in. Despite how big it is, it doesn’t feel like too much. And then there’s Max, who’s enthusiastically asking for attention. His magic stutters a little, wanting to reach out to Bruce, but also not wanting to be rejected.

Once Bruce comes back out to the front entry way, Thor can feel himself fall a little bit more in love with his friend. He looks so put-together and there’s a small part of Thor that thinks maybe he feels the same way. But he ignores it, not wanting to get his heart broken. The two of them have just gotten to a place where they feel safe with each other, there’s no need to make things weird again.

“So, uh, let’s get going,” Thor says awkwardly as he stands up.

The walk to the café is filled with small talk, just talking about the weather and anything else miniscule they can think of. Once they’re seated in the café with their orders, things fall quiet. Thor isn’t quite sure what to say, not wanting to ruin the moment.

“Any plans for Valentine's Day?” Bruce inquires. “It’s on a Saturday this year, right?”

“Yeah, it is,” Thor replies, a bit taken off-guard by the question. “And no, probably just staying in and watching movies with Eva.”

Bruce snorts. “Looks like we’re on the same page. Might go into work, though.”

“I thought we talked about you not going in on the weekends.”

“There’s no harm in me going in.”

“You told me that work was giving you headaches. I think that’s a sign that you need to slow down.”

“Thor, it’s fine. I can look out for myself,” Bruce says, rolling his eyes. “It’s really not that big of a deal.”

“I care about you and that means making sure you actually enjoy your weekends.”

“You can’t keep dragging me to the same café every time. I’ve already caught on that this is your place to take me when you want to distract me,” Bruce points out.

“Then we’ll just have to find more places.”

“That wasn’t an invitation, Thor.”

Thor smiles smugly. “I thought you knew me better than that, Bruce.”

“I can’t believe we’re friends,” Bruce groans. “You’re almost worse than Tony.”

“Almost? I have to do better then.”

“That also wasn’t an invitation to be worse.”

“Is it being worse if it’s just me being a good friend?” Thor inquires. “I seriously just want to hang out with you and I can’t do that if you’re always in the lab doing something.”

“You know I’ll always make time for you,” Bruce says softly.

And this makes Thor’s heart stutter. He’s tempted to say something, anything, but he just can’t get the words out of his throat. It’s too much, how much love he feels for his friend, and he shoves them back down. It’s too tempting to say something and ruin everything. They’ve already ruined their friendship once here; Thor doesn’t want to be the reason they stop talking again.

“Was that too much?” Bruce inquires, seemingly oblivious to what Thor’s going through.

“No, of course not. You know I would always be there for you too,” Thor replies, a bit breathlessly.

“I know,” Bruce whispers. “So, I know you said that the kids were liking the Magic 8 Ball I gave you. Is there anything else I can make for you? That way I can still be productive without looking for work.”

And so, Thor shoves his feelings down, and gets lost in the casual conversation. Maybe one day he’ll work up the courage to say something, but today isn’t that day. And maybe he’ll never find the time, which he supposes wouldn’t be the worst thing if Bruce stays his friend. He could manage that, at the very least.

When he sees Jane on Monday morning, she comes into his classroom and demands that he shares every detail of the weekend. She’s convinced that Bruce is just as much in love with Thor as he is with him.

“Look, we just had coffee and I fell more in love with him. Nothing about this should be surprising,” Thor groans. “He looked nice though, better than he normally does.”

“So, he dressed up for you?” Jane inquires, raising an eyebrow. “I thought Bruce doesn’t dress up for anything other than those black-tie events he goes to for work.”

“It probably wasn’t anything,” Thor answers. “And I almost said something to him.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I can’t risk losing him again, Jane. I was stupid enough once to ruin everything, I can’t do that again.”

Jane looks at him a bit sadly. “I promise that he won’t make things weird if he ends up not feeling the same way. But something he tells me that he does. Just the way he looks at you sometimes, it makes me wonder if he’s already half in love with you.”

“I don’t know if I could keep things the same if he doesn’t like me back. I just…I want to stay friends with him. But I feel like that would break my heart so much.”

“You’ll be fine, Thor. Whatever you decide to do, you’ll walk out of just fine.”

“I don’t want to walk out of it okay if he’s not there,” Thor whispers.

And that’s maybe the scariest thing that Thor has admitted to himself. He knows that they haven’t been friends for very long, but the thought of not having Bruce around for the rest of his life, it’s not a great thought. Jane takes his hand and squeezes it tightly, knowing how much Thor needs the contact.

“You’ll be okay, Thor. I just want you to be happy.”

He looks over at her sadly. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

~ ~ ~

“I am almost certain he feels the same way,” Tony says over lunch on Monday.

“Oh my god, he doesn’t feel the same way,” Bruce groans.

“Bruce, the way you described it makes it seem that way,” Pepper replies.

“You’re both wrong,” Bruce says. “And I don’t want to ruin this on the off-chance that he does. I feel like things have finally settled between us and I don’t want to be the reason things feel weird again.”

“You won’t be ruining anything, though. Thor is a good man and if there’s a small chance that he doesn’t feel the same way, then he won’t make things weird,” Pepper explains. “We just want you to be happy.”

“And I am happy,” Bruce whispers. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this content. So, I don’t want to ruin things because I was fooled into thinking someone could love me back.”

Tony and Pepper look at their friend for a moment before dragging him into a hug. Bruce hugs them back, letting his magic feel the comfort through the bond he has with them. He does his best to calm down, but it’s hard. As much as Bruce wants to be hopeful, he does his best to ignore his feelings.

For the next week, Bruce falls back into his bad habits of working too much. Max does his best to make him feel guilty, but it’s hard when Bruce needs a distraction. And he manages to avoid Thor, not wanting to hurt his heart any more than he has to. Thor is obviously hurt at how obviously Bruce is avoiding him, but Bruce thinks just a little bit of time will help him get rid of his crush.

Saturday morning finds Bruce working in the lab, not wanting to chance Thor coming by his apartment. Seeing Thor in his space again will only make his heart grow fonder. Unfortunately, Thor tracks him down, despite Bruce trying to hide behind his desk. Bruce does his best to smile and hide his feelings, especially when he sees Thor carrying in coffee for him.

“I knew you wouldn’t have eaten much this morning,” Thor explains, handing him the coffee and a muffin. “I just…I’m sorry if I did something. I know I can be a lot sometimes, but you can tell me to calm down if you want, I promise you won’t hurt my feelings.”

“It’s not you, Thor, I’m just going through something right now,” Bruce says. “I just needed time to process it all.”

“And it has nothing to do with me?”

“No, of course not,” Bruce replies, sympathetically. “I’m sorry that I made it seem that way.”

Thor looks like he wants to say something, but keeps his mouth shut. Bruce wants to ask, to push and say that they can be honest with each other. But if Thor wanted to tell him, he would, so Bruce leaves him be.

Things are quiet for a few minutes as Bruce eats the muffin and it’s been a while since he was so comfortable sitting in silence with someone. So, he tells Thor just that. It startles a laugh out of the other man and makes him smile softly.

“It’s not often I’m quiet, so I’m happy that you enjoy it,” Thor replies. “You’re a good man, Bruce Banner.”

Something about Thor using his full name warms his heart and makes his crush grow just that much bigger. He doesn’t know what it is, maybe it’s the fondness in Thor’s voice that gets him. As much as Bruce won’t admit it, it makes him think briefly that maybe Thor feels the same way. Before he can fall down that rabbit hole, he changes the conversation.

“Anything fun happening in the classroom I should know about?” Bruce asks.

“Nothing much,” Thor answers, shrugging. “We’re exchanging valentine’s day cards on Friday and then watching a movie. But it’s just the usual, I suppose.”

Bruce snorts. “I forgot about how much of a staple that was in elementary school.”

“It’s fun for a bit, before they all get a sugar high.”

“I can imagine,” Bruce says, laughing. “I’m sure you make them eat it before recess.”

“Of course, I do,” Thor replies softly. “So, um, are you doing anything on Saturday?”

“Pretty sure we had this conversation already and my answer is the same,” Bruce jokes. “Still just watching TV with Max or coming into the lab.”

“We should get coffee together,” Thor blurts. “Not as a date if you don’t want it to be.”

“Not…if I don’t want it to be?” Bruce asks, confused. “Do you want it to be a date?”

“Um, I wouldn’t be opposed to it?”

“Well, uh, we could consider it a date if you wanted it to be,” Bruce replies, feeling his heart racing.

Bruce wasn’t expecting this, and he’s unsure of what to say, if there’s even anything to say at this point. And then he starts thinking, what if this is a sympathy date? What if Thor caught onto his feelings and is just doing this to help Bruce down lightly? He starts spiraling until he feels a hand on his shoulder. When he looks up at Thor, he sees the other man searching his face.

“I lost you there for a minute,” Thor whispers. “You don’t do this if you don’t want to.”

“Why would I not want to do this?” Bruce inquires. “Why would _you_ want to do this?”

“Because I care about you and I want to take you on as many dates as you’ll let me,” Thor explains. “I thought I scared you off with how I felt. I was being so obvious about it.”

Bruce snorts. “I was avoiding you because I felt the same way. I didn’t want to scare you off. I didn’t want to make things weird.”

“Well, I hope you’re ready to be wooed, Bruce.”

~ ~ ~

“Wait, you actually were the first one to say something?” Jane exclaims. “I can’t believe this.”

“What? I can admit my feelings,” Thor snorts. “And it just kind of…came out. I couldn’t not say anything.”

“I’m glad it worked out,” Jane replies softly. “You deserve this more than anyone I know. And Bruce is a good man to end up with.”

“We haven’t even been on one date yet.”

“Look, if the two of you can get through the shitstorm that the two of you have already been through, I think you’ll be fine. And it’s not like Bruce is unfamiliar with hard work.”

“Are you saying that I’m hard work?”

“Yes, I am and don’t try to fight me on this because you’ll lose,” Jane says.

“Sure, whatever you say.”

“I really am happy for you, though. I think the two of you are good for each other. I know that you haven’t even gone on a date yet, but things are going to turn out just fine.”

“Just fine?”

“Oh my god, they’ll turn out wonderful as long as the two of you remember to communicate.”

Thor smiles. “I really hope things turn out well.”

“First impressions are key. Where are you taking him on a date?”

“Just the café?” Thor replies, unsure of himself. “I just…wanted him to be comfortable and it’s either there or the labs.”

“Haven’t the two of you had a falling out there already?”

“Yes, but it’s also where we first met. Or rather saw each other.”

“Okay, but you guys can always go to the café. Make it special. Is there a restaurant that he really likes?”

“I’m…not sure. I can ask Tony, he should know.”

“You’re really going to let him in on this?”

“They’re best friends,” Thor replies, shrugging. “If he goes over the top, then that’s what happens.”

“Well, let’s hope Bruce said something first. God knows Tony won’t shut up if he hears it from you first.”

Thor then hears his phone beep with an incoming text message.

“Speak of the devil, this is Tony now. I think he just sent me a string of exclamation marks?”

Jane snorts. “I’ll leave you to figure out your date, big guy. And wipe that smile off your face.”

Thor just smiles bigger in response, making Jane laugh. He then turns back to his phone and asks Tony, _so, where should I take Bruce on a date? I wanted to take him to the café but Jane said that was a dumb idea_

**Bc it is a dumb idea. Even if I know he would like anywhere you took him, you’re not taking Bruce there. There’s a Thai restaurant nearby that he really likes, but won’t ever admit. I’ll send you the deets of your reservation**

_You’re making our reservation???_

**Might as well use my name to get you a good table**

_That’s unnecessary_

**It’s going to be valentines day and they’re probably booked. Consider it a good luck present**

_Is that a thing???_

**No but just let me be nice**

_Fine_ ☹

A few minutes later, Tony texts him the address and the reservation time, also saying that it was booked under Thor’s name. Sighing, Thor tosses his phone on the desk. He’s feeling anxious the more he thinks about the upcoming date. As glad as he is for the brief moment of bravery he had, there’s a small part of him that’s scared of screwing this all up. What if they just don’t work together as a couple? Thor isn’t sure if he would recover from that. Before he can spiral any further, kids start to filter into his classroom.

By the time Saturday rolls around, Thor texts Bruce, telling him that they have dinner reservations at 6pm that nice. Bruce just texts him a string of question marks, obviously confused. He hopes he didn’t make a wrong call about this.

 _I wanted to take you to a nice dinner. Have to impress you_ 😊

**I’m already over the moon that we’re going on a date. You don’t have to do anything special**

_But you’re special. I want to make sure I’m not slacking_

**Oh**

_Was that too much? Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m being too much_

**No, you’re fine. I guess it’s just weird to hear you saying that**

_Well, I hope you’re ready for me to say it all the time_

**….I shouldn’t have said anything**

_Just be ready for me to pick you up at your apartment at like 5:30_ 😊

**Can’t wait :D**

Despite it barely being past noon, Thor decides to pick out his outfit for tonight. He doesn’t want to be too formal, but he also doesn’t want to look like he doesn’t care. It feels like Thor tears through his whole wardrobe until he settles on a nice pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt. Jane has told him multiple times that while it’s a simple look, he looks hot in it. He also decides to throw a nice wool coat over it. And, well, it wouldn’t hurt to try and impress Bruce a little bit. He feels a bit foolish trying to impress someone he knows already likes him, but Thor wants to do this right.

By the time he sees that it’s 5pm, Thor grabs his wallet and keys, then heads down to his car. His palms are sweating the whole drive over to Bruce’s apartment. There’s just so much on the line that Thor could mess up, and his magic is doing its best to calm him down. By the time he gets to Bruce’s apartment, he feels a bit better.

When he knocks on Bruce’s door, Bruce opens it moments later. And, well, he looks amazing. Bruce is wearing a dark blue cable knit sweater and black jeans. Thor feels his heart swell at how soft Bruce looks right now.

“No flowers?” Bruce asks, in a deadpan voice.

“Oh god, did you want flowers?” Thor replies, nervous.

“I was only kidding,” Bruce snorts. “But also, am I dressed okay?”

“You look amazing,” Thor whispers.

They stare at each other for a moment, taking the other person in. The silence is broken by Max meowing loudly. Bruce snorts and leans down to pet his cat. Thor smiles a little, and turns his attention back to the other man. Now that he’s seeing Bruce, he feels better about tonight, like everything is going to turn out just fine.


	7. Eternal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A soft epilogue because these two deserve a happy ending.

_“My love is yours if you’re willing to take it.”_

And things do turn out fine, better than either of them could have ever imagined. It’s been three years since the two went on their first date and now the two are living together in Bruce’s apartment. Things are chaotic at times, especially with two cats, but Thor won’t have it any other way. The comfort he feels in this relationship is something that he could have never dreamed of.

There was a lot to work on at first, especially with making sure they were always communicating openly. But once they got past that barrier and were truly open with each other, everything fell into place. Thor never knew that he could feel so happy with another person, and he knows that he found the love of his life in Bruce.

It’s a warm summer morning, and Thor has convinced Bruce to take the week off, to just relax together. With Thor waking up first, it’s a testament to how much his boyfriend needs the rest. And if things go according to plan today, they won’t be just boyfriends anymore, but engaged. Thor can’t imagine Bruce saying no, but there’s still a small piece of him that has his doubts.

“What are you staring at?” Bruce mumbles, curling further into Thor.

“You,” Thor whispers.

“I look gross.”

“You look beautiful.”

Bruce laughs a little before kissing Thor on the jaw. Thor turns his face and kisses Bruce back deeply. They lay there making out for a little bit, caught up in the syrupy slowness of a summer morning. Before things can move further, though, Eva and Max jump up on the bed and demand to be fed.

“It’s your turn,” Bruce murmurs.

“Sure, whatever you say,” Thor says, kissing his head.

Once Thor throws on some shorts and an old t-shirt, he decides to grab the ring from one of his lesson planning boxes in the shared office. He hides it in his pocket, on the off-chance that the perfect moment presents itself at some point before showering. If it doesn’t happen, Bruce will be none the wiser.

After talking to Tony about it, Thor decided that a simple proposal would work, one where they’re just together the whole day, enjoying each other’s company. So, when Bruce agreed to take a week off, Thor knew he had his chance. He never imagined getting to this point in his life, but he’s excited that he’s found someone to love forever, and someone who will love him just as much in return.

“Is that coffee?” Bruce asks, walking into the kitchen. “I hope it's coffee because someone kept me up too late last night.”

He has one of Thor’s old university t-shirts on, hanging loosely over his shoulders and an old pair of sweats. Thor can feel his heart swell seeing Bruce feel so comfortable. He isn’t sure what it is about seeing Bruce in his clothing, because it isn’t a possessive feeling, but it just makes him feel content.

“If I remember correctly, you seemed happy about it,” Thor replies. “Pretty sure you encouraged at least a little bit of it.”

Bruce blushes. “Doesn’t change the fact that it was late when we finally went to bed.”

And…this feels like the right moment. Thor walks over to Bruce and gives him a quick kiss before dropping to one knee and pulling out the ring box. Bruce lets out a confused noise, but doesn’t say anything, obviously waiting on Thor to say something. He panics for a moment, unsure of where to start, but he remembers Tony telling him to just speak from the heart.

“Bruce, I…you know how much I love you because I say it all the time. And I can’t see myself ever not loving you,” Thor starts to say. “I know we didn’t start out on the right foot, but I like to think that the life we’ve built the last three and a half years has been something amazing.

“It’s been so long since I’ve had a family and it’s scared me to feel like I was alone in everything. But…you’ve provided me with so much support and care that I don’t know what to do with. So, wherever life leads us, whatever decides to throw at us next, I want to do it with you by my side. Will you marry me?” Thor asks.

“Of course, I will,” Bruce whispers.

Thor lets out a wet laugh and slips the ring on Bruce’s finger. Bruce pulls him up and kisses him deeply. Thor pulls his boyfriend – no, fiancé, into a tight embrace. The thought of being able to spend the rest of his life with Bruce is an overwhelmingly happy thought. He feels blessed to have found someone that will continue to push him and believe that he can be a good man.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, there’s a rush of emotions – joy, pure bliss, and elation that doesn’t completely feel like his own. This feels deeper than the attachment that he and Bruce have, which leads Thor to think –

“Did we just bond?” Thor blurts out.

“I think we did,” Bruce whispers happily.

Thor laughs and kisses his fiancé again. God, he’s never going to get tired of saying that. He pulls Bruce in closely, holding the other man by the waist. But before they can escalate anything further, Bruce’s phone starts ringing.

“Ignore it,” Thor says, kissing Bruce again. “We just got engaged, I think we can ignore some phone calls.”

“It’s probably Tony and you know he won’t stop calling until one of us picks up,” Bruce replies, disappointed. “And he’ll come over here and start knocking on the door until one of us opens the door if we don’t pick up.”

“Fine, go get it,” Thor groans, knowing that Bruce is right.

Bruce answers his phone and puts it on speaker.

“Bruce, are you okay? I just felt a lot of things come down the bond,” Tony says, worried. “And while I’m sure everything is fine, I wanted to check to make sure.”

“Yeah, I’m great, Tony,” Bruce says, happily. “It’s just, um, Thor just proposed? And we might have just bonded?”

“Oh shit, my bad,” Tony replies. “I’ll let the two of you enjoy that engagement bliss. But we’re going to go get lunch together soon so I can ask about all the details. Pepper and I need to know everything.”

“No, you don’t, Tony,” Thor warns.

“What are you planning on doing? Wait, don’t answer that question. Have fun, be safe, we’ll talk later,” Tony says in a rush before hanging up.

“Well, that should be fun,” Bruce mumbles as he tosses his phone back onto the counter, before tugging Thor down to kiss him once more, hopefully with no interruptions this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who has made it to the ending! This was such a fun story to write, especially within the urban fantasy setting. I hope you all enjoyed it and loved it as much as I do. Any kudos and comments would be much appreciated <3


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